


Never Alone

by LadyRa



Series: The Gene Therapy Universe [2]
Category: Smallville, Stargate Atlantis
Genre: BAMF Lex, BAMF Rodney, Crossover, First season Atlantis, M/M, Minor Character Death, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-02-22 15:05:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2512028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyRa/pseuds/LadyRa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lex and Clark have to go to Atlantis to help rescue the city.  This starts the day after Gene Therapy ends, and you really need to go read that one first for this to make any sense.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the 2nd story I'll be posting as a WIP. This one only has 50 pages done, but it will still let me update regularly before I run out of story! Meanwhile, keep reading if you want to know why I've joined the ranks of the WIPers. 
> 
> I have been discovering that on my long stories that I seem to be getting to a point and then stopping. After much thought I think it's because I need it to be a more interactive process. The shorter stories I post are easier to write and easier to get feedback and it's fun for everyone. The longer stories sit on my laptop for months, sometimes years, and it gets lonely. LOL. This one has been hanging around, literally, for many years and it's time to get it finished.
> 
> So, I am joining the ranks of those who post WIPs, but only for my long stories. Say the ones that get to be over 50 pages. That way, I'm hoping, I can get some encouragement, maybe some fun ideas, and get them done! As I edit and write more, if it changes something from an earlier chapter, I'll let you know.
> 
> I am also a firm believer in having fun in my sandbox. So, happy comments, nicely worded constructive comments about continuity gaps and typos are welcome to play in my sandbox. Unfriendly comments won't be welcome, and I'll just delete your comment, so don't waste your time. Be an adult and go read something else you will enjoy!!!

Day 1: Smallville

Jonathon and Martha returned home from their weekend away to a quiet house. That wasn't entirely surprising as it was Monday and Clark would be at school. What was surprising was how neat the house was, as if Clark hadn't even been there.

While Jonathon took a quick look at the animals, Martha opened the refrigerator door and stared at all the food that was still in it. Food that should have been inhaled by her teenaged son. Her eyes ran over the counter. "Hmm."

"What is it?" Jonathan asked as he dropped their suitcases to the floor. 

"My fryer is gone," she said, confused. "So's my waffle iron."

"Why would they be missing?" Jonathan asked as he helped himself to some juice, swatting his wife's behind.

"I have no idea."

"Anything else missing?" he asked, poking his head around the corner into the living room, as if to see if the television was still there. 

"Not that I can see, but something's here that shouldn't be," she said.

"What?" he asked, oblivious, as he put the juice back in the refrigerator.

"All that food," she responded, pointing at the packed shelves. There were a few things shifted around, but most of what she'd bought to feed Clark for the weekend was still there.

Jonathan frowned at the refrigerator's contents. "Maybe Clark went shopping," he suggested.

She shook her head. "That's the food I bought."

He stared at the food for another few seconds, then shrugged. "He obviously didn't eat at home." He shut the refrigerator. "He's been around because all the chores are done and the animals are fine." 

Martha smiled. "Good. That's a relief. Not that I think he'd shirk his responsibilities, but I'm relieved he's okay."

Jonathan nodded. "Although you know what else is weird?"

"What?" Martha said.

"The floor in the barn is uneven. I tripped a couple of times."

This time Martha shrugged, unable to explain that mystery any better than the missing appliances, or the food that should be missing but wasn't. "I guess we'll find out what's going on when Clark gets home from school. Meanwhile, I'll unpack and then I've got some orders to get ready."

As if that was his cue, Jonathan picked the suitcases up. "I'll take these upstairs for you, and then I've got my own chores to do."

Martha walked across the kitchen and gave Jonathan a smack on the lips. 

He kissed her back. "Sure you don't want to help me take these upstairs?" he teased.

"That'll have to wait until tonight, lover boy," she teased right back. They'd spent a good deal of their weekend away making love, and while it was tempting to go upstairs with her husband, they had a business to run. He sighed dramatically but then, as she grinned at him, he headed upstairs with a suitcase in each hand. 

 

Day 1: Atlantis

When John woke up the next day, his head was still on Rodney's stomach. They'd both, apparently, slept like logs. He kissed the soft skin there gently, then, with a grin, blew a raspberry.

"Hey," Rodney protested, shoving him off.

John barely kept from falling off the bed. That was near the top of his to-do list: getting a larger bed. Of course, nothing would compare to the beds at Lex's castle. Too bad they couldn't have shoved a mattress or two in the puddle jumper. And sheets. Towels. That motorcycle. "We need a bigger bed," he announced, adjusting himself so he was on his side, facing Rodney.

"Right," Rodney said sarcastically, "because getting a bigger bed in both our rooms won't tip off anyone that we're having sex."

"So?" John said. "Let them figure it out."

"Hello?" Rodney said with a frown. "Military. Don't ask don't tell? Marines with small brains and large boots?"

"Hello?" John said just as snidely back. "Pegasus galaxy? International civilian run operation? Air Force Major with big brain and big gun?"

Rodney stared at John for a long minute. "John," he started.

John didn't want to hear it. He rolled out of bed, grabbed his pants from yesterday and withdrew the note Radek had passed him. He got back in bed, opened it up and showed it at Rodney. "Proof. You can't back out now."

Snickering, Rodney took the note. "I told you Radek would do it."

"See? Radek knows," John said reasonably. "He obviously doesn't care."

"Most scientists don't care where the sex comes from," Rodney said with a lopsided grin. "The dry spells last too long to be picky about stupid things like gender."

"I don't think anyone will care," John said.

"Bates?" Rodney countered. "He still watches Teyla like she's Mata Hari. You really think he's going to be fine with you having sex with another guy?"

"I don't want to hide this," John said plaintively.

Rodney leaned in and gave him a kiss. "Neither do I," he said. "But I also don't want anything bad to come of it."

"It won't."

"It might," Rodney argued.

"Rodney."

"John, just give me some time, okay? Let me see how it all fits."

"What does that mean?" John asked, annoyed. "Does that mean you might decide it doesn't fit? That this was just a fling on Comic Book World?"

"Jesus, Sheppard," Rodney said with a shake of his head. "You are such high maintenance. Wait here." He got out of bed and moved to his dresser.

John used the opportunity to ogle Rodney's ass. His round, perfect, almost heart shaped ass. The ass that was now John's, no matter what Rodney was thinking in that too brilliant brain of his.

Rodney appeared with a Three Musketeers bar in hand. "Here, okay?" He handed it to John. "Now you know I love you."

"You romantic fool, you," John drawled, even though he knew Rodney was totally serious. He didn't give his chocolate away to anyone.

"All I'm saying," Rodney tried again, "is that I want to enjoy this, just you and me, without it being anyone's business for a while. I want it to be ours alone. Something I can think about privately and no one will have any idea what's making me smile."

John liked the idea of that, watching Rodney smiling, knowing no one would have any idea why, except for John. "Okay." John held up a warning finger. "But just for a while. I don't want to hide this forever. Eventually I want us in the same bed every night and I don't want to have to sneak in and out every day." Rodney kissed him, which was great, but it was in place of agreeing, something John was keenly aware of.

"Speaking of sneaking," was all Rodney said when their kiss was done, "it's probably time for you to go."

"Damn it," John snapped. "I hate this already. We should be taking a shower together, walking to the cafeteria together. Playing footsie."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Oh my God. You are such a girl. You ever offer to paint my toenails, we are so done."

With a disgruntled sigh, John rolled out of bed and began pulling on his pants. "We're not finished talking about this, Rodney."

"Color me surprised," Rodney grumbled. 

 

Week 1: Smallville

Lex was out doing his rounds on the factory floor, something he tried to do at least twice a day.

"Lex," a voice called from behind him.

He turned around to find Mark McInerny heading his way. With a smile, Lex said, "Mark. How's Dana?" Dana was one of Lex's favorite people, especially given her artistic talents.

"She's fine. She drew another picture for you and told me I had to give it to you today." Mark handed over another crayoned masterpiece.

Lex studied it for a minute. It was a picture of a house, a rickety one to be sure, but clearly a place where happiness abounded, going by the riot of colors and the profusion of flowers and butterflies--the size of toasters--adorning the yard. Interpreting the imaginative creativity of a four-year-old was new to him, so he said cautiously, "It's lovely." He glanced at Mark to see if any assistance was forthcoming as to what else he should be noticing.

Mark grinned at him, "It's your house," he explained.

"Ah," Lex said. He was guessing Dana had never seen the castle, something he'd need to correct at some point. Maybe instead of his typical formal employee Christmas dinner at the castle, he'd do something during the day so children could come. Something with sleigh rides and reindeer. Lex looked at the picture again; he was sure the castle could never compete with the sheer creativity in Dana's picture. 

With another grin, Mark pointed to one of the windows. "That's you and Clark."

Lex peered closer and could barely see two matchstick figures, one with black hair, one with no hair, standing together, with huge grins on their faces. Indeed, the ends of the smiles extended right off their very round heads. "We look happy," Lex observed. He wondered, for a moment, what Mark thought of all of this. If Mark knew he and Clark were together. If he disapproved. If it would keep him from letting Lex see Dana or be welcomed at Mark's home.

"She's always been taken with Clark," Mark explained, "and now she seems equally taken with you." He tapped the picture. "Expect more of these. She used to draw one for Clark every day."

It reminded Lex that he needed to buy a new refrigerator. Clark had been right. His stainless steel monstrosity refused to hold a magnet. He'd taped Dana's picture from yesterday on the pristine surface with a note to the maid not to touch it. He wished he'd had Rodney's acerbic tongue to help write a sufficiently daunting note. He just knew his housekeeper would consider the picture an eyesore.

He touched a glob of purple crayon where Dana had gotten carried away decorating one of the butterflies. "Mark," Lex began.

"I can ask her to stop," Mark said nervously, picking up something from Lex's voice.

"On the contrary," Lex said quickly. "I'm honored and touched. I like Dana. Very much. I just want to make sure that you aren't uncomfortable. In any way."

Mark gave him a studied look, which Lex patiently endured. "I think you and Clark are good for each other," Mark said, much to Lex's surprise. "And I think Dana will be better off for having friends like you and Clark who can watch out for her."

Stunned, Lex almost rocked back on his heels. He was not only stunned, he was speechless. This was now the third time in the last week that someone had said something to him that was more life-affirming and complimentary than he knew what to do with.

As if understanding, Mark just smiled at him, patted him on the shoulder, said, "I'll probably have another one for you tomorrow," and walked off.

Lex watched him go, wishing school was out so he could call Clark and tell him he loved him.

 

Week 1: Atlantis

"So these football players make more money than your healers?" Teyla asked, after the four of them had watched another football game on one of the DVDs Lex had given John.

John nodded, sorry, again, for bringing up yet another weird Earth thing.

"It's insane, I know," Rodney offered. "They make more money than me," he added with a disbelieving scoff.

"It's because they usually can't do it for long," John tried to explain. "They have to make a lifetime of salary in just a few years." He wasn't about to explain how some of them went on to become sports commentators, or to make advertisements, or became actors. Somehow, whenever he was talking about Earth, it always sounded like the most retarded place to live.

Ford just sat there, eating the popcorn and laughing at all of them.


	2. Chapter 2

Month 1: Smallville

"Clark?" his mother called as he was racing out the door.

"Yeah?"

"I can't believe I keep forgetting to ask you, probably because I've been using my old one, but where is my deep fat fryer? The one I usually use. Oh, and my waffle maker," she added sternly.

Clark paused in the doorway. "Um. It's at Lex's?"

"Are you telling me or asking me?" she asked, hands on her hips.

"Why is your mom's deep fat fryer at Lex's?" his dad asked, over the top of his newspaper, looking less than pleased.

Clark couldn't have come up with a good lie to save his life so he went with the truth. "Because I needed to fry up some chicken?" he said, wincing a little, waiting to see how that went over.

"You were over at Lex's when we were gone?" Jonathan asked in dire tones.

Doing his best to keep a shit-eating grin off his face, as Clark thought about everything that had gone on that weekend--and had been going on since--he just nodded. "Yeah." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Can I go? I'm gonna miss the bus."

Just then someone drove up in the driveway, and Clark grinned madly as Lex pulled in. "Never mind. Lex can drive me." Without waiting for a response, sure it wouldn't be a particularly happy one, Clark fled out the door straight to Lex. He hopped in the passenger seat and, after a quick peak to make sure his parents hadn't made it to the window yet to peer out, he quickly leaned over and kissed Lex. 

Lex licked his lips, made a 'mmm mmm good' sound, and put the car in reverse.

That was when Clark's parents appeared at the window. "Try not to peal out of here, Lex," he advised. "They're watching."

He could see Lex was tempted to anyway, but appreciated the fact that, instead, he drove out of the driveway at a fairly sedate speed. "Are we going to tell them?" Lex asked.

"Yes. No," Clark grimaced. "Yes. Yes," he said again more firmly. "Wait! Wait," he added nervously. "Um. Yeah, absolutely. Oh, God." Clark covered his face with his hands. 

Lex was laughing by the time he was done.

"God, I suck as a boyfriend," Clark moaned

Lex was still laughing, which wasn't helping.

"Shut up," Clark hissed.

Lex tried to pull himself together and put his hand on Clark's thigh. "Clark, you're an awesome boyfriend. Best ever. You don't know how often I'm tempted to carve our initials into things. Clark and Lex, TLA. Then I try out your first name with my last name, and my first name with your last name, and I get all tingly."

"You are such an asshole," Clark announced, leaning back, arms crossed over his chest. "TLA?"

"True Love Always," Lex said dramatically, one hand over his heart.

Clark snorted. "Not BFF?"

Lex let out another laugh. "I miss not waking up with you," he said, more seriously.

"God, me too. Do you know how long it's been since we've had sex?" Clark whined.

Lex looked at his watch. "About six hours?"

"Exactly," Clark moaned.

Lex started laughing again. "One of these days they're going to catch you leaving the house."

"I figure I'll tell them I've been learning how to fly," Clark said, proud of himself for already having an excellent excuse on tap.

"You haven't told them that, yet?" Lex asked, surprised.

Clark shook his head. "I haven't told them anything."

"Why not?"

"Because I want you there when I tell them," Clark said. "I want them to know that I can fly now, because of you, and that I'm invulnerable to Kryptonite, because of you, and then I want to tell them that I love you, and that we're together."

"And hopefully you'll be standing in front of me so when your father gets his shotgun out, the bullets will hit you instead of me," Lex added.

Clark sighed. "I wish he wasn't so against you. It makes me mad because he doesn't even know you. You're the best thing that ever happened to me, and all he thinks is that you're the worst."

Lex needed both hands to hold onto the steering wheel and downshift to turn into Clark's school, but when he'd done his maneuvering he reached over and clasped Clark's hand. "Why don't we break it to them slowly? I could come over and we could tell them about the meteor rock. Maybe that will help."

Glumly, Clark said, "Want to bet that all my dad will talk about is how stupid I was to let you take tissue samples?"

"And that will be the perfect opportunity to tell him about my kinky sex lab," Lex teased.

Clark grinned. Then he sighed. "Oh, I need my mom's deep fat fryer and waffle maker. I keep forgetting to bring them home. Will you remind me when I'm over next?"

"I will," Lex said. He squeezed Clark's hand one more time then took his own back to downshift again, pulling to a slow stop in front of the school. "Have a good day."

Clark stared at him. "I'd rather spend it with you."

"Only three weeks more, and you're done. Then we can spend as much time together as you want."

"Three weeks," Clark repeated. Three weeks and he'd be done with high school. He could do three weeks. He hoped he could, anyway. It was just that now that he could fly, and he was having sex with Lex, and he'd spent the weekend with people from another reality, and fought against a dangerous alien from outer space, high school just seemed stupid in comparison.

"You better go before I kiss you," Lex warned.

Clark shot him a look of incredulity. "And that's supposed to get me out of the car?"

Then Chloe was knocking on the door, and making a 'come on, come on' wave, and Clark smiled ruefully at Lex and got out of the car. With Chloe there he couldn't even tell Lex that he loved him, or that he'd see him later. He shot Lex one more look that hopefully said it all, and then shut the door.

Lex drove off and Clark smiled at Chloe. "Hey," he said. "Three weeks."

"It feels like forever," Chloe groaned. "Instead of three weeks, say fifteen days. That sounds better."

Clark could do that. "Day one, here we go." He started to walk Chloe into the school. As they got inside, Chloe shot him a weird look. "What?" he said defensively.

"You just walked right by Lana," Chloe said, her brow furrowed.

Clark hadn't even noticed her. He shrugged, shot Chloe a lopsided smile, and headed for his first class.

 

Month 1: Atlantis

Telling or not telling had been pushed to the side as John and the rest of Atlantis fought against time as eight hive ships advanced on Atlantis. Their trip to Smallville, and the luxuries they'd partaken, seemed like a hundred years ago; the only reminders the steady supply of chocolate and coffee that fueled Rodney and kept him going on less than three hours of sleep a night. 

John was on his weary way to the armory and, when he turned a corner, he took a moment to lean against one of Atlantis' walls and let his head sag back. He was exhausted. They were all past the point of fatigue. Rodney and Radek were doing their best, but without more ZPMs, the city didn't have the defenses it needed. 

Rodney was working on the Ancient satellite weapon, and John was checking available weaponry to get a better sense of how long the bullets would last, and make sure everyone who could shoot a gun was armed. They were talking hours at this point, and John wondered if the fast goodbye kiss he and Rodney exchanged two hours ago might be their last.

The desire for Rodney's caustic commentary, and the presence of his sturdy body by John's side, almost blindsided John with its intensity. He shook it off and started jogging to his destination. Time was nearly up.

 

Week 7: Smallville

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Lex said to his father who had just entered his office. He hadn't spoken to his father for weeks, actually, not since before Rodney and gang had dropped by. That in itself was unusual, but Lex had been too pleasurably occupied to notice.

"I think it's time for you to come back to Metropolis," Lionel announced.

Lex hadn't ever realized how his fears for Clark had flavored his relationship with his father. While Lex hadn't known what Clark was, exactly, he'd known he was special, and he'd known he couldn't allow his father to be in a position to take advantage of that.

A lot of Lex's games with Lionel had been in an effort to pull his attention away from the Kent Family, an obsession that had taken hold of both generations of Luthors. Lex's focus on Clark had made him that much more appealing to Lionel.

But, now, even if his dad did find out something, he couldn't do anything to hurt Clark. There wasn't a prison that could hold Clark; there wasn't any place Lionel could put Clark that Clark couldn't fight his way out of. He couldn't hold him in a lab, he couldn't weaken him with Kryptonite, and he couldn't hurt Clark. Ever.

It made Lex smile at his father. It was astonishing how unthreatening his father suddenly seemed. And it was fun to watch how disconcerting his dad found his smile.

"What are you up to, Lex?" Lionel asked warily.

"Nothing," Lex said, leaning back in his chair. He supposed he should offer his dad a drink, but he didn't feel like it. "And I'm not ready to go back to Metropolis."

"Why on earth would you want to stay here?" Lionel asked, gesturing toward the window as if to encompass all of Smallville and its infinite number of cow paddies.

"For the time being," Lex said, "it's home." His father had already tried to take the plant away Lex's second year here, but Lex had gotten around that and now owned the plant along with the employees. He'd made dozens of improvements over the last couple of years, and the plant was making more money now than ever.

His father narrowed his eyes at him in displeasure. "I'm disappointed that you've set your sights so low," he said disparagingly.

It really was astonishing, Lex thought. It was like Lionel had been defanged. It all seemed like so much drama. Lex wasn't foolish enough to think that Lionel was harmless, far from it. But--and it bore repeating--Lionel couldn't hurt Clark, and there wasn't much he could do to Lex, short of killing him, that Clark couldn't protect him from.

Lex didn't want to play these games with his father anymore. He wanted to love Clark, and have Dana draw him pictures, and be considered a smart and conscientious boss, and hopefully, soon, be considered family by Martha and Jonathan Kent. Although, he admitted to himself, that could still blow up in his face spectacularly and probably would.

"Shall I have the cook prepare dinner?" Lex asked cordially.

His father stared at him, brow furrowed, as if he might divine his thoughts from that alone. "No," he said slowly. "I need to go back to Metropolis."

Lex was almost disappointed. He was enjoying discombobulating his father. "You sure?" Lex asked.

"Quite sure," Lionel said. "Although don't think this conversation is over. I need you back in Metropolis."

"Dad," Lex said, "I find that hard to believe. You don't need anyone."

"A father always needs his son to carry on his legacy. That's the way of things," Lionel said pompously.

Lex bit back a smile. Just at that moment, Clark appeared in the doorway. Lex let loose his smile and turned it on Clark. "Clark," he said, pleased.

"Hey, Lex," Clark said. Then to Lionel, he said, "Mr. Luthor."

"Clark Kent," Lionel said, giving him a hard look, then turning his gaze on Lex, then back on Clark. "How are Martha and Jonathan?"

"They're fine," Clark said.

"Usually the delivery boy leaves the packages in the kitchen," Lionel pointed out, gesturing at the box Clark was carrying.

Clark looked at the box, looked at Lex, then shrugged. 

"Clark hasn't been 'the delivery boy' in years, dad. Stop being so provincial," Lex suggested. To Clark he said, "Kitchen appliances?" The box looked big enough to hold both the deep fat fryer and the waffle maker.

Clark nodded. "Mom was gonna kill me if I forgot again. Fried chicken's on the graduation party's menu."

"I was just telling Lex that it was time for him to return to Metropolis," Lionel stated with all the anticipation of dropping a bomb and eagerly awaiting the fallout.

"You going?" Clark asked Lex casually.

"No," Lex said.

"Okay," Clark said. "Cause you could if you want."

And Lex could, because Clark could come see him anytime he wanted; it would take him about twenty seconds to fly back and forth.

"My son hardly needs your permission," Lionel said, frowning fiercely. "I'd suggest you remember that."

"Oh, God, Dad," Lex said with a grin. "Now you sound like some plantation owner in the colonies, telling the slaves to remember their place. Please," he added, "it's embarrassing."

"This conversation isn't over," Lionel said with threatening overtones.

Clark frowned, tensing a little, but Lex waved him off with a small gesture. There might come a time when Lex would need protection from his father but it wasn't right now. Lionel would need to go regroup and decide how he was going to handle a son who wouldn't engage in battle with him. Lex was actually looking forward to the next volley.

Apparently done, Lionel swept out of Lex's office, shutting the door behind him.

"Huh," Clark said, staring at the closed door.

"Is he really leaving?" Lex asked.

Nodding, Clark moved to Lex's side and leaned down to kiss him. "Right for the front door."

"Good," Lex said with satisfaction.

"It's weird," Clark said, putting down the box on the corner of Lex's desk.

"What is?"

"I guess I was always a little afraid of your dad, but now that I know he can't hurt me, he sort of seems like a, well, like a windbag." He winced as if afraid he might be out of line insulting Lex's dad.

Lex laughed out loud. "I love it. He'd spin in his proverbial grave if he heard you say that, but it's true." This time it was his turn to kiss Clark. In fact, he pulled Clark down until he was straddling Lex in the chair. "I can't tell you how nice it is to not be afraid for you," Lex admitted.

"I can't tell you how nice it is not to be afraid," Clark said back. "For someone who had super powers, it sure seemed like I was afraid of everything, especially the meteor rock."

"You were also young, dealing with powers you didn't understand, fighting all the mutants in town while trying to keep what you were a secret, not to mention dealing with teenage angst," Lex said kindly. "That's a lot to be handling."

"You were the only thing I wasn't afraid of," Clark admitted. "I can't even imagine what it would have been like here if I hadn't had you."

"I feel the same," Lex confessed. Never had he imagined that his exile to Smallville would have netted him such a friend, let alone such a lover. He pulled Clark in close, hugging him tightly.

 

Atlantis:

Grodin was dead, and Miller had been culled right out of the damn jumper, neither he nor Rodney able to get the cloak or shields up in time. Neither of them had been operating at full capacity after watching the defense satellite explode with Grodin in it, right after it had taken out one single hive ship. Rodney had managed to get the jumper cloaked in time to avoid getting culled himself, but not to avoid taking a hit. It was a miracle that the cloak was still working, but he could have walked back to Atlantis in an EVA suit faster than the jumper was moving.

The city was covered in darts and culling rays. There were a few jumpers in the air but not enough to make a difference. He didn't know if there were so few because they had all been shot down, or if there weren't enough pilots left to fly them. Not that it mattered, Atlantis was being destroyed right in front of Rodney's eyes, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it. 

The jumper's communication array was down, weapons were down, shields were down, everything was down, including life support, everything but the cloak. He'd have just enough oxygen to get him to Atlantis, assuming there was anything left to land on. 

His fists so tight his fingers were cramping, Rodney stared at the few remaining jumpers, trying to imagine he could tell which one John was flying. He'd see one doing something heroically stupid and be sure it was John. Then he'd watch in horror as it was shot down and he'd urgently choose another one. Not that it mattered; the few that were still flying were all being shot down, one by one, helplessly outnumbered by the Wraith darts.

Rodney could barely breathe. It felt as if an elephant was sitting on his chest, and his eyes were blurry from tears. Those were his friends, his family, his home, John, being destroyed, and he could do nothing. Nothing. He'd never felt so useless in his life, and it sat like a burning lump of coal in his stomach.

Sparks shot out of the console Rodney had just opened, as he attempted yet another hopeless repair. Every crystal on the ship was burnt out with the exception of the cloak. He was tempted to pull them out, to let a dart shoot him down, because he couldn't bear the thought of what would be waiting for him when he arrived. 

Only his stubborn nature refused to let him do it. There was something deep inside of him that just refused to give up, even if he'd end up landing on Atlantis, no doubt only to be met by a Wraith welcoming committee, waiting and willing to torture him to get the gate address to Earth.

Sickeningly sure of that eventuality, Rodney began to run through scenarios of how he could start the self destruct without being too obvious about it. Maybe he could pick an empty planet and pretend it was Earth, make them keep him alive just long enough to destroy the city, keep it out of Wraith hands. 

At least they truly couldn't dial Earth, not with the ZPM being so depleted, not that the Wraith would believe him. Rodney had no idea if the Wraith knew that dialing Earth took eight symbols. If they managed to get the space coordinates out of him, though--Rodney let out a mirthless laugh at the chance that he'd actually manage to withstand Wraith torture and not give them the coordinates--they could go into hibernation and take the entire race to the Milky Way Galaxy. Rodney could go down in history as the man who destroyed Earth.

It took a while for it to sink in that the darts were leaving the city. For a second, one jubilant second, he thought that maybe Atlantis had won, that John had pulled another miracle out of his ass and saved the day, however unlikely that would be without Rodney to help him. But, the second passed quickly, and the realization hit that the more likely truth was everyone was dead or culled. 

The darts returned to the hive ship until the skies above Atlantis were still and quiet as a tomb. In comparison, Rodney's beating heart and gasped breaths as he tried to hold it together were so loud they were deafening. 

His puddle jumper continued its laborious passage to Atlantis, and Rodney forced his mind to think of the best place to land. Something out of the corner of his eye flickered and he whipped his head around, sure that the cloak had failed and he was about to be shot. But, instead, he saw a wormhole forming, and the hive ship jumping through. When it was gone, Rodney stared, trying to make sense of its departure.

Why would it have gone? All the evidence at hand was that they had conquered Atlantis. Why weren't they staying? Why hadn't they at least left a guard? Although, maybe they did. It was possible there were any number of Wraith in the city trying to force her to obey their commands. Maybe John and Elizabeth were alive, being tortured to give up their secrets.

That thought galvanized Rodney and, throwing caution to the wind, he pulled out the cloaking crystal and replaced one of the main console crystals, urging a small amount of thrust to get the jumper moving faster. He recognized that being seen on approach would take away any hope of arriving secretly and mounting an epic rescue mission on his own, but Rodney didn't care. He also had no idea how in the hell he was going to mount an epic rescue mission without John, without anyone, to help him, with a jumper on its last legs, and a city full of Wraith, but he'd worry about that when he got down.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's your Thanksgiving installment to this story! I'm planning on doing installments on all three of my WIPs tonight. Next installment? Probably closer to Christmas. I need to do some serious writing and then I have to have time to read what I wrote several times before I'm okay with posting.

Smallville:

Jonathon blearily looked at the clock, noted it was 3:30 in the morning, and then wondered why he was awake. He heard a noise outside, and deciding that that must have been what awoke him, he peered out the window. 

"What is it?" Martha asked sleepily beside him.

"Clark," Jonathan said with some asperity. "It's 3:30 in the morning. What is he doing up?" Clark might not have school anymore, his graduation from high school over and done with, but he still had chores to do. He noted darkly that Clark had come from the direction of Lex's mansion.

"Clark?" Martha asked, confused. "What is he doing?" She rolled over until her chin was resting on Jonathan's shoulder and peered out the window along with her husband. "Clark?" she called. 

Almost stumbling, Clark came to a stop and stared up at the window. He winced and waved his hand. "Hi. Sorry. Did I wake you up?"

"What are you doing up?" she asked.

"Um," he said. 

Before Jonathan could ask the more pertinent question, which was where he had been all night, Clark smiled broadly. "I can fly," Clark said brightly. "I've been practicing. Watch." Right before their eyes, Clark left the Earth and shot into the sky.

Jonathan's jaw dropped. "Holy Toledo," he said, pressing closer to the screen of the window so he could try to see Clark.

"Can you see him?" Martha asked, her voice full of wonder.

"No," Jonathan said, but then he could, because Clark was hovering outside their window.

"Cool, huh?" Clark asked, grinning like a madman. Then, looking more contrite, he said, "Sorry if I woke you up. I can't really practice during the day."

"That's all right," Martha said, still sounding awestruck. "I can't even believe it. How high can you go?"

"I don't know," Clark replied. "Out of the atmosphere." With a voice as full of wonder as Martha's had been, he said, "I can go high enough to see the Earth sitting in space. It's so amazing."

Jonathan still wanted to ask his question, but even his distrust of Lex couldn't make him say something to take the stars out of his son's eyes. "You better call it a night, son. The cows won't appreciate you sleeping in because you've been out flying."

Clark grinned again. "Okay. Good night." He rose again until he was over the roof and, a few seconds later, they heard him come in the front door.

Martha rolled onto her back, staring up at Jonathan. "He can fly."

Jonathan shook his head. Clark never ceased to surprise him. "I envy him. I'd love to see the Earth from space."

"I'm sure he'd take you," Martha said kindly.

"Not unless he has an extra astronaut suit hanging around," Jonathan responded.

"Good point," she said. "He can fly," she said again, sounding stunned.

"We knew he could float," Jonathan pointed out.

"Think he'll fly us to Hawaii for our anniversary?" she asked, grinning. "Vacations could suddenly become a lot cheaper if we didn't have to pay for airfare."

Jonathan chuckled. "We'll ask him." Yawning widely, he glared at the clock. He wondered if he should just get up now seeing as he was due up in an hour. 

Martha tugged at his shoulder. "Don't get up yet. I'll be cold without you." 

He acquiesced and let her arrange him around her, until she sighed happily and was asleep in seconds. 

For a moment, he tried to imagine having a son like Clark without a woman like Martha at his side to cope with one strange thing after another. The thought sent a shiver down his spine, and he surrendered to the warmth of her body and let her steady breaths reassure him of her presence until he fell asleep.

 

*****  
Lex had been collecting Kryptonite. He wanted to completely reassure himself that Clark was immune. Looking at the box on his desk filled with a collection of about 50 crystals of various sizes, he thought that might be enough to test Clark's immunity and put his own fears to rest. Hearing a whoosh, Lex looked up to see Clark landing on his balcony.

"Hey," Lex said with a smile. "Should you be flying when it's still light out?" It was Saturday, around 4 in the afternoon.

"I ran over," Clark said. "I just flew from the driveway. And yes, I checked to make sure no one was watching."

Lex still frowned. "I hate that you take such chances."

"It's not like anyone can hurt me anymore," Clark said reasonably. "Case in point," he added as he strolled to Lex's desk and sat down near the box of rocks. "See?"

"You can't even feel it in your stomach?" Clark had complained of that the first night the gene therapy began to work.

"A twinge, maybe," Clark said honestly.

"What does that mean?" Lex asked sharply, watching Clark's face to make sure he didn't downplay this at all.

Clark reeled Lex in. "Like this," he said, lightly pinching Lex's side. "I notice it, but it doesn't hurt, it's not getting worse, and in a minute, I won't even notice it at all. It's like getting used to a hot day, or your eyes getting accustomed to a dark room."

"Neither of which you have to do," Lex pointed out dryly. "And while they may not be able to hurt you," Lex said, gesturing at the rocks, "people finding out about your powers could. If the wrong people find out, they could destroy any chance of you continuing your normal life as Clark Kent. They'd swarm this town, harass your parents, and you'd be besieged everywhere you go. Trust me, living life by paparazzi isn't all it's cracked up to be." 

"I'll be more careful," Clark promised. He pulled Lex closer until he was standing between Clark's thighs. 

Lex loved Clark's thighs. He sighed happily as he ran his hands up and down the length of them, feeling the defined muscle under his fingers. "Promise me you will," Lex urged. "I don't want anything getting in the way of us being with each other. You moving to the North Pole for some privacy would make it harder to run my business."

"Why?" Clark teased. "You’ve run your business for years without me underfoot."

"Not true," Lex said. "You were always underfoot as I met you the day I moved here to take over. That's not what I meant, though. What I meant was that I'd be at the North Pole with you, and I would suspect that neither electricity, nor wireless technology is as reliable as I'd like."

Clark beamed at him. "You'd move to the North Pole with me?"

"Did you actually think I'd allow us to be on separate continents for any length of time?" Lex asked him, one eyebrow up. "I can barely go a day without going through withdrawal."

"I missed you, too," Clark whispered into Lex's ear, his hands running down Lex's back.

"Maybe your parents would allow me to take you on a trip as a graduation present," he suggested.

"You can show me all the best beds in Europe," Clark teased, even as he leaned in to nibble on Lex's jaw.

"In order to appease your parents," Lex advised, baring his neck to Clark, closing his eyes, enjoying the all-over tingles that the feel of Clark's lips on the underside of his jaw created, "I suggest we have one or two pictures of us enjoying the sights."

"We can spend an hour a day sightseeing," Clark mumbled into Lex's skin. "After all, I can get us anywhere we want to go in minutes, so that way we can spend more time in bed." He moved to the juncture of Lex's neck and shoulder, pushing his shirt out of the way.

Lex let out a moan of delight. Even after having regular sex, almost nightly, the wonder of it hadn't worn off for either of them. Lex understood his compulsion; he was getting to touch Clark. Who wouldn't want to endlessly touch someone like Clark?

"Maybe we could have sex right here," Clark suggested, "on your desk, right next to the Kryptonite." His hands were resting on Lex's ass. 

Lex pushed back into Clark's hands, then toward Clark's body until he rocked into Clark's hard cock. His own hands framed Clark's face, bringing his lips down to Lex's, and he thrust his tongue inside, ablaze for the gorgeous man in his arms. He couldn't imagine a day when he wouldn't desire Clark, although desire was such a tame word for the passion that sizzled between them.

There was a knock on the door.

Lex thought about ignoring it, but it came again, loudly, along with a discreet cough.

Sighing, Lex pulled away from Clark, kissing him gently when he let out an impatient whine at the interruption. "I have to see what Enrique needs," Lex told him. "He wouldn't interrupt if it wasn't important."

Clark frowned but stepped away. 

Lex stared at him; Clark looked like an advertisement for sex. "Go away," he said sternly with a laugh. "Really. Go where I can't see you, or Enrique's going to see more of me than I want him to see." He looked down at his own groin where his cock still lay engorged and heavy.

Looking smug at Lex's words, Clark snuck one more kiss, saying, "I'm going to go get us something to eat from the kitchen." 

"Good idea," Lex said. The farther Clark went, the easier it would be to stop thinking of how thoroughly and deliciously debauched he looked. "Go."

With a grin, Clark was gone, causing some papers to swirl on Lex's desk. He slapped a hand down on them to keep them from flying, and he quickly adjusted himself, thinking cold thoughts. He moved to the door and opened it. "Yes?" he said, trying to keep his impatience out of his voice. Although it better be important, Lex thought darkly.

"A Mr. Kent is here to see you," Enrique said apologetically. "I told him you were busy, but he said it was urgent."

Just the thought of Mr. Kent hovering nearby was sufficient to totally cool off Lex's ardor. Lex was doubly glad that Clark had gone to the kitchen. When he returned with food, it would seem much more innocent than him skulking around the corners of Lex's office. 

"Where is he?" Lex asked, making sure his shirt was adequately tucked in and his buttons buttoned.

"Right here," Mr. Kent said, suddenly appearing from down the hallway.

"Please," Lex said with a gesture, "Come in. What can I do for you?"

Jonathan Kent stalked into the office with a stride that caused Lex to let out a silent sigh, wondering if Mr. Kent's arrival would ever go hand in hand with a friendly visit. To make matters worse, Lex remembered the box full of Kryptonite sitting on his desk. "Crap," he said, frantically trying to come up with some excuse.

"What the hell is this?" Kent said, holding up a handful of crystals. If looks could kill, Lex would be lying on the ground bleeding from a thousand stab wounds. A part of him was curious as to how Mr. Kent would explain his off-the-wall anger. As far as Lex knew, they were just green rocks, nothing dangerous to Clark. For a moment, he felt like playing it out, putting Jonathan on the spot, asking him why the rocks bothered him so much. He let the fantasy go in a matter of seconds as Jonathan's face grew redder and redder.

He shook his fistful of rocks in Lex's face. "What the hell are you doing with a box full of these?"

Lex had no idea how to answer that question, appalled at his inability to come up with a perfectly plausible lie; hanging around with Clark was having a deleterious effect on Lex's underhanded ways. Part of it was also that he really did want Mr. Kent to like him. The challenge was coming up with a story that wouldn't alienate the man further. This, right here, Lex thought drolly, was the problem with caring what people thought about you.

"Has Clark been here today?" Jonathan demanded, throwing the crystals back in the box and fisting Lex's collar, almost yanking him off his feet. "He said he was coming over here today. Where is he?"

Lex's mind was a complete blank. He found himself slammed into a wall, Mr. Kent's anger escalating. "Mr. Kent," he squeaked out around the fist that was pressing uncomfortably against his Adam's apple.

"Shut up," Jonathan hissed out. "I don't know what you're up to," he said threateningly, "but you stay away from my boy. Do you hear me? If you do anything, anything," he said again, punctuating the word with a rough shake which smacked the back of Lex's head against the wall, "I will make you pay."

"Dad," Clark yelled from the doorway, his hands full of sandwiches and chips. They crashed to the floor as he super-sped in. "Let him go," he snapped, pulling on his dad's arm.

"Get out of here," Jonathan demanded, "right now."

Clark ignored him, not that Lex expected anything else, and in a matter of seconds, Jonathan had been forcibly removed from Lex's person. "What are you doing?" Clark said angrily to his dad.

This time Jonathan grabbed Clark. "You need to leave." He tried to be subtle, but there was no doubt he was trying to draw Clark's attention to the box of Kryptonite on the desk, hopefully without drawing Lex's notice.

Lex almost snickered; Mr. Kent sucked at subtle.

Or maybe he did snicker, given the killing look Kent directed his way. In response, Clark stood between his father and Lex. "What did you think you were doing?" Clark demanded.

Jonathan opened his mouth to, no doubt, malign Lex's character, when he stopped. "Why…?" He bit his lips, unwilling, Lex supposed, to ask what he wanted with Lex standing there.

Tired of the drama, and deciding that now was as good a time to tell the truth, Lex said to Clark, "I think your father is wondering why the Kryptonite isn't making you sick."

Jonathan's eyes widened, then narrowed, as he shot an accusatory and frightened look Lex's way. Then he glared at Clark. "What does he know?" he hissed. It was clear he was already trying to figure out where to hide the body.

"Everything," Clark told his father defiantly. "He knows everything."

"You're a fool, Clark," his father bit out. "He can't be trusted." He gestured at the Kryptonite on the desk as exhibit A with a look of righteous anger. 

"This stuff?" Clark said casually as he sauntered over to the desk and picked up a handful.

"Clark," Jonathan bellowed, taking a step toward Clark as if he expected to catch his son as he fell.

Clark crumbled the rocks in his hand and let the remains fall to the floor.

Lex never got tired of that. Each time it happened it banished, a little bit, the picture of Clark on the ground, writhing in pain, green veins pulsing under his skin.

"It's not…?" Jonathan began, again stopping his question with a frustrated look at Lex, despite Clark's affirmation that Lex knew everything.

"Yes," Clark said. "It's Kryptonite. And you know why it can't hurt me?" he said with a hint of menace, as he moved closer to Lex, taking a moment to check out the back of his head.

Lex wondered if he had a bruise. He thought maybe he did at the dark look in Clark's eyes.

"I'll tell you," Clark said sharply to his father, facing him. "Because Lex came up with an antidote. Yes, the man I can't trust, according to you, made it so I really am invulnerable. Not the sort of thing someone would help you with, I'm thinking," he added with a touch of sarcasm, "if they wanted to hurt you."

Jonathan looked a little like a fish out of water, his mouth opening and closing. Then, shrewdly, he said, "What happens if he stops giving you the antidote? How do you know he won't withhold it unless you do things for him?"

Lex thought that might be a fun sex game to play. He tucked that idea away to discuss with Clark later. Maybe they could play it down in his kinky sex lab. Clark would be all over that idea.

"It's not that kind of antidote, dad," Clark said, frustrated. "It's already done. I don't need any more shots or drugs. He came across a substance that protected me from the Kryptonite and made a serum out of it. Once I was injected with it, I stopped reacting to it."

"You let him inject you with something?" Jonathan asked incredulously. "Who knows what he did to you?"

"Dad," Clark snapped. "Stop it. It was weeks ago. If I was going to lose my powers, or turn into a mutant toad, it would have happened, but Lex would never do anything to hurt me. He saw it as my Achilles Heel and did something to fix it. I'm safe, dad, from everyone, and everything, and Lex did it."

"Son," Jonathan began, a clear warning in his voice.

"I don't want to hear it," Clark cut him off angrily. "I can't believe you're still doubting him. He made it so I'm safe from Kryptonite; he taught me to fly…"

That got another wide eyed look from Jonathan that Lex enjoyed.

"And," Clark continued hotly, "I love him, and he's mine. If you can't treat him with some respect, I have nothing to say to you."

Okay, Lex thought to himself, as Mr. Kent looked as if he might have a stroke, he hadn't expected Clark to drop all those bombs in such rapid succession. And if Clark had hoped his demands for a ceasefire would be met, he was sadly mistaken. Jonathan's face was red and metaphorical steam was coming out of his ears. "How long?" he grit out between tightly clenched teeth.

"I was eighteen," Clark snapped right back. 

That took some of the wind out of Mr. Kent's sails, finding out that he couldn't bring Lex up on charges of statutory rape or other unsavory crimes against man and nature. 

"I think you should go," Clark suggested strongly.

"You're coming with me," Jonathan said forcefully.

"No, I'm not," Clark said. "In fact, I'm not coming home at all until you apologize to Lex for hurting him."

"Clark," Lex said softly. "He was just trying to protect you." Protecting Clark wasn't something he could fault Mr. Kent for, even if he hoped someday not to be the first person Kent looked for to blame.

"At your expense," Clark said hotly. "It's always at your expense, and I'm sick of it. You’ve done nothing but help me from the moment we met, and he's treated you like dirt."

Lex was thinking that maybe Jonathan should leave. There would be no arguing with Clark right now, and this could only get uglier. Besides, Clark was hot when he was pissed, and Lex wanted to have sex with him right now.

"I'm not leaving without you," Jonathan said, standing his ground.

There was a whoosh, and Jonathan and Clark were gone, doors slamming open and shut. Clark was back in a second.

"What did you do with your father?" Lex asked, a little apprehensively.

"I made him leave without me," Clark said, hostilely. "He's outside by his truck."

Lex could only imagine how Mr. Kent was feeling about that. 

"I told Enrique not to let him back in," Clark added.

Enrique adored Clark. All of Lex's staff adored Clark. Mr. Kent would not be getting back in. In fact, Lex could hear the truck start and peal down the driveway. "He'll be back with heavy armor and artillery," Lex said.

"I'll protect you," Clark said, half looking like he might need to. Then, he sagged against Lex, and Lex wrapped his arms around him, holding him close. "Why does he hate you so much? It makes me crazy."

Lex could have given him a dozen reasons, but the truth of it was that Jonathan Kent was a stubborn man, and combined with his fanatical need to protect Clark and his secrets, and his long standing hatred for all things Luthor, there was nothing rational to explain. "I’m sorry I keep coming between you," Lex said softly. "Maybe you should go home."

"Forget it," Clark said stubbornly, holding Lex just this side of painful. "He'll just yell more, and he never listens."

Lex walked Clark to the couch, sinking down, settling Clark against his chest, between his legs. He kissed Clark's cheek, and ran his fingers of his right hand through Clark's hair. He still wanted to have sex with Clark, but comforting came first.


	4. Chapter 4

Atlantis:

Rodney was running through the city, gasping for breath, his heart beating like a jackhammer. He’d run down two hallways until it registered that he wasn’t seeing bodies. Rodney wasn’t sure if he was reassured or horrified by that fact. Every time he turned a corner he expected to find them, piles of them, drained and tossed aside like yesterday’s garbage. A jolt of fear, like a shot of adrenaline made his legs wobble each time he thought he saw something dressed in black on the floor.

He saw a gray and black uniform lying next to a dead Wraith, and his eyes slowly made out the fact that the uniform covered a wizened body. He sank to his knees and saw it was somebody black, but other than that he had no idea. Even though he didn’t have time, and even though it made him cringe, he pulled at the dog tags, and saw that they read: Ford, Aiden.

"God," he managed to get out between his gasps, swallowing back the urge to throw up. Now it was too real. He knew that everyone was either dead or gone, and if they were gone, they were as good as dead. Ford. Jesus. He was just a kid.

Rodney pulled his knees to his chest and dropped his head to them. He wasn't sure he could take much more of this. He wasn't sure he could keep going around corners expecting the worst. He might not have found John, but what he found was bad enough. 

Rodney allowed himself a few minutes to panic, wishing with his whole heart that John was on the other side of his radio yelling at him to get a move on, to fucking solve this already. Finally, John’s imaginary yelling helped him pull it together, and he took Ford's P90 with shaking hands, as well as his extra clips. Woodenly, he lurched around the corner, guarding against what he might find there.

He checked his lifesigns detector one more time. The only bleep on the screen was him. Rodney knew it meant he really didn't need the rifle, but he didn't want to believe it. How the hell was he going to get them back?

There was nothing but empty corridors as he made his way to the Gateroom. If anyone was still alive, or if there were more bodies to be found, Rodney knew it would be there. He stumbled into the control room to find it completely empty. 

Not completely empty, Rodney corrected himself, there were two bodies on the floor. Rodney couldn't control the nausea this time, and he fell to his knees, throwing up on the floor, over and over again until he was bringing up nothing but spit and bile, his body aching. He was such a fool, just now realizing he'd deluded himself into thinking that John would be standing there, smiling, saying, "Hey, Rodney, what took you so long?" so Rodney could launch into one of his diatribes, and everything would be fine.

But John wasn't there, nor was Elizabeth. At least they weren't among the dead on the floor; he didn’t know who they were even after looking at their dog tags. A couple of Marines who gave their lives up for nothing. 

Moving to the main control board, Rodney clicked on the speaker. "John? Anyone? Is anyone here?" He waited with baited breath for someone to talk back. He'd even take a Wraith over the eerie silence that was starting to press in on him. "Anyone?" he yelled into the mike.

Running, he took off for the chair room. That was empty, too, and there were no dead bodies. How could there be so few bodies? Had the entire point of the attack been to extract everyone? Why? They could be tortured for information here as well as on a hive ship, and here they’d have access to the gate that might take them to Earth.

On automatic, unable and unwilling to stop, Rodney ran to John's room, finding it as empty as everywhere else. Sickbay was next, then the armory. Empty, empty, empty. Heartbreakingly empty. They were all gone.

Leaning against a wall, he slid down until his ass hit the floor. "What the hell am I supposed to do?" Rodney whispered. He knew he was good at coming up with stuff, but that was with equipment under his hands, and John yelling in his ear. He wasn't Arnold Schwarzenegger, or some other sort of action hero, or even John Sheppard, who would probably already be coming up with ways to rescue everyone with some manic glint in his eyes.

Forcing himself to his feet, he got himself to the jumper bay. The bays were more than half full, explaining why there'd been so few out defending Atlantis. The attack had been brutally fast and overpowering. Even with the advance notice they'd had, they hadn't been able to marshal any kind of sufficient defense. That had been Rodney’s job, to get the Ancient Defense Satellite up and running, and he’d failed to achieve his objective. 

The Wraith had the advantage of numbers and weaponry. Not that there wasn't precedent for the underdog winning; they'd been in that position a few times. But, Henry the 5th, and the Battle of Agincourt notwithstanding, Rodney didn't think that particular battle would have come to the same victorious ending if their enemies had stun guns and culling rays.

He spun around and saw that John's jumper was still in its bay. While Rodney hated to think about John being in Wraith hands, at least the jumper's presence here meant that John's molecules weren't currently drifting in space.

What would John do? Rodney thought frantically, doing his best to still his frantic mind. He really, really missed John yelling at him and he let out a bitter chuckle. How twisted was he that his current predicament wasn't stressful enough, that he wanted to add John's aggravating goading to the mix?

"Okay," Rodney said, one hand in the air, as if speaking to his invisible allies. "Figure out where they went. Figure out how to get there. Fly there and rescue everyone." He blew out a breath. "Piece of cake." The first one might be. Rodney could probably figure out where they were heading by reading the hyperspace signature. In fact, he absentmindedly started the computers working on that part of the problem. The timing was fortuitous because Radek had just finished working on the algorithm. 

He had the entire armory at his disposal, so he wouldn’t have any trouble with weapons. The nuclear bombs he and Radek had assembled were still sitting in the lab, and Rodney could come up with computer viruses while he was on route. 

It was the flying part that concerned him, no, stymied him. First, because he sort of sucked at it--despite all his protestations to the contrary. Second, as they stood right now, the jumpers couldn't generate a hyperspace window, nor was there any data as to the likelihood that it could get through one intact.

Every second that passed meant that his teammates, not to mention John, were in danger from the Wraith, and Rodney did not have the luxury of time to create new technology for the jumpers. Not that it mattered. He rarely had the luxury of time to create anything. It was always rush, rush, rush, or die. Now was no different.

Fuck. Rodney wanted to beat his head against a wall. Making a mental list of what he needed, forcing himself to pretend this was just another day in the Pegasus Galaxy, he headed for the lab. "What I need," Rodney said bitingly to the empty hallways, "is a second scientist. I'd even take Kavanaugh right now." He thought for a second and then shook his head. “Never mind.” Kavanaugh would be worse than useless. 

That was when it hit him. He needed a mastermind. "Lex." 

He snapped his fingers as the thoughts kept rolling. "Clark." A bigger and more unstoppable weapon than anything the Wraith had. And Lex could help him design what he needed for the jumpers. He turned around and headed back to the jumper bay. Now all he had to do was figure out how to convince John's jumper to fly him to Comic Book World. It was a crazy, wild plan, sure to fail and result in Rodney's untimely and uncomfortable death, but that just really did make this day like any other day in the Pegasus Galaxy.

But before he got to the jumper bay, he turned around and headed back to his lab. There was something there he'd need to bring with him. 

 

Smallville:

"He what?" Martha squeaked out, one hand on her chest, looking as if she might pass out.

Her reaction was all Jonathan could have asked for. "Exactly," he said with hostile intent. "Who knows what his ultimate plans are for Clark."

Martha blinked at him, clearly too upset to speak. Finally, she said, "Take me to him."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Jonathan replied, not that he wouldn't enjoy watching Martha give Lex a piece of her mind.

"Jonathan, either you drive, or I do," Martha said in her don't-mess-with-me voice.

Jonathan had learned a long time ago not to mess with Martha when she used that tone. "Let's go," he said, tossing his keys in his hand. He deliberated on whether to grab his shotgun or not, but decided that he'd let Martha verbally eviscerate Lex instead.

The drive over was silent, although every now and then a tear slid down Martha's face. Jonathan tried to take her hand and offer what comfort he could, but she was locked up tight as a drum. 

They pulled into Lex's driveway and parked by the front door. Jonathan wasn't sure if he hoped the staff would let him in or not. He could use a good fight to blow off some steam. Martha stalked up the steps and knocked on the door. Jonathan stood beside her, ready to tackle anything that came up.

 

*****  
Lex was pacing. "I think we should go to your house. By staying here, while safer, thereby ensuring we'll win the battle, I'm afraid we'll lose the war. We need to make a conciliatory gesture."

Clark rolled his eyes. "We're not at war with my parents."

Lex shot Clark a look. "Make no mistake about it," Lex corrected him. "I've been at war with your father since the moment he laid eyes on me on that riverbank. I should know, as I've been engaged in the same kind of war with my own father." Winning this battle would only lose him ground in the long run. Jonathan would be ten times as committed to keeping Clark away from him.

He startled a little bit when Clark wrapped his arms around him. "I'm sorry, Lex. I did this all wrong. I should have told them weeks ago, given them time to get used to the idea. I know I just set my dad off, doing it the way I did." He rested his chin on Lex's shoulder. "He just makes me so mad, the way he treats you."

Lex reached back and patted Clark's hair. No use worrying about what had happened. They needed to come up with a plan on what to do now.

"You fixed me," Clark said in protest, still on his my-dad-drives-me-crazy tirade. "Why can't he see that? Why can't he be glad for me?"

"You were hardly broken," Lex commented, stilling as he saw Jonathan's truck pull up to the front of the house, and Jonathan and Martha get out. This was unexpected.

"I was," Clark countered. "All someone had to do was wave some Kryptonite at me, and I was useless. I wasn't much use like that."

Lex had to admit that it was a fairly fatal flaw. Very Greek, actually. The front door opened and he could hear the sound of voices. Lex wondered if Martha would manage to override Clark's orders to not let Jonathan in. He wondered if now would be a good time to have Clark fly him to Paris. It had been a while since he'd been there, and Clark had never been.

Footsteps made their steady way to Lex's office. The door opened and Enrique gave him an apologetic wince before Martha and Jonathan entered the office. Lex could hardly blame Enrique. Martha was almost as much of an irresistible force as Clark. He made to move away from Clark, but Clark held him close so Lex couldn't have moved if he'd really wanted to.

"Is it true?" Martha demanded of Lex, after Enrique closed the door.

"Yes," Clark said defiantly.

"To what exactly are you referring?" Lex asked cautiously, even as he was warmed by Clark's handle-all-complaints-with-a-bludgeon defense.

"The Kryptonite," Martha asked. "Have you really made him immune?" Her eyes caught the big box of green rocks on his desk. She gasped and her eyes moved beyond Lex to her son who was still holding onto Lex. "It isn't making you sick?"

Clark grinned, let Lex go, and moved to the desk. "Nope." He picked up a rock, crumbled it in his hands, and let the dust spill from his hands. 

"You did this?" she demanded of Lex, moving closer to him. Within striking range, Lex thought morosely, refusing to take a step backward. He might not be willing to take what Jonathan dished out, but he'd stand still for Martha Kent.

Before Lex could answer, Clark was standing in front of him, directly in front of his mom. "Yes, he did it," he said firmly. "He takes care of me, mom."

Martha pushed Clark out of the way and pulled Lex into a tight hug. Momentarily nonplussed, Lex wasn't sure whether he should hug her back or not. He gingerly rested his hands on her back.

"Martha," Jonathan began, looking extremely vexed, as if he'd had dreams of Martha breaking a pool cue over Lex's head.

Martha waved an impatient hand at him. "You have no idea," she said softly into Lex's ear, sniffling a little, "how afraid I've been for him." She pulled back and Lex could see that her eyes were brimming with unshed tears. "So afraid. He's so strong, but anyone who knew about Kryptonite could destroy him." She cupped his face in her hands. "Thank you."

He blinked at her, trying to wrap his mind around this unexpected but refreshing turn of events. Clearing his throat, he said, "You're welcome." He smiled at her. "I'm fairly invested in keeping him alive." He glanced at Clark only to find him beaming back at him. Lex's heart ached with his love for Clark. He forced his attention back to Martha only to find her watching him, sure she'd seen his feelings for Clark written all over his face.

"I can see that," she said with gravity. "And how long has that been going on?"

"I was eighteen, mom," Clark said. "Lex hasn't done anything wrong."

"That weekend your father and I went away?" she probed in an all-knowing voice.

Clark nodded. "That's when I learned to fly, too."

"It was a busy weekend," Lex said with a wry grin. A very busy weekend.

"How did you figure it out?" she asked Lex.

"That I loved Clark?" Lex asked, looking for clarification, still feeling like he'd wake up any moment and find Jonathan standing over him with a shotgun. The look on Mr. Kent's face was sour enough that it was still a distinct possibility.

"No," Martha said. "But we will be talking about that," she said with a small frown, "and why I'm only finding out now."

"Martha," Jonathan bit out through obviously grinding teeth. "Don't tell me that any of this is all right with you. I don't care what Luthor is saying, somehow this is all going to bite us in the ass."

"Dad," Clark said in aggravated tones.

Martha put up her hand to stop any further conversation. "Lex, may I have something to drink? And then, I'd like to hear how this whole thing happened."

"Of course," Lex said, moving to the bar. "What would you like? A nice chardonnay?"

"That would be lovely," she said with a smile, sitting on the couch. Jonathan looked as if he wanted to get in his truck and drive as far away as possible, preferably with Lex chained to the bumper. 

"Mr. Kent?" Lex asked, "Something to drink?"

"Nothing," he snarled.

Lex decided to stick with water so pulled out a Tynant for himself after handing Clark a Coke. He served Martha her wine, saying, "It's a long story."

"I've got time," she said clearly. "Sit and talk."

A voice to be obeyed, Lex observed. He marshaled his thoughts and moving to the window where it had all started, he began to speak.

 

Atlantis:

"So, uh, I know you and I haven't always gotten along," Rodney began, feeling all sorts of stupid for talking to John's favorite jumper. "But, well, John's in trouble."

He hoped that whatever amounted for sentience in the jumpers--specifically this jumper--that allowed them to read the pilot's mind, that made this jumper particularly attuned to John, would understand what Rodney meant when he said that John needed help.

"The issue as I see it," Rodney said in a more officious tone, annoyed at his nervousness, "is that John, John Sheppard, you know, tall guy, stupid hair, likes turkey sandwiches? Well, anyway, he's in danger, and we're the only ones who can help him."

He took the next moment to initialize the jumper by thinking 'on' at it. The reassuring vibration that started an instant later made Rodney think that maybe, just maybe, this crazy idea might work.

Pushing the button that would open the ceiling above the jumper room, he thought up, and was pleased when the jumper rose up and out of Atlantis.

Of course, this was the easy stuff. He wasn't even sure how to ask the thing to take him to an alternate universe. The jumper had gotten that information out of John's mind; had put up the two screens showing the two realities in response to John's questions.

Rodney suddenly ached for John to be there sitting next to him; the realization that he wasn't, and maybe never would be, almost paralyzed him with fear and sorrow. As if in response, the jumper's weapon console lit up and several alarms went off. Rodney looked down at the console in consternation, but nothing seemed wrong. Very glad no one could see him, he patted the console. "You miss him, too, don't you?" 

An alarm turned on and then off.

Rodney's eyebrows went up in surprise, followed by that sharp thrill of victory that shot through him when he figured out something that was unsolvable. "Take me back to Comic Book World," he said firmly, placing his memory of Smallville and the cornfields and Lex's mansion clearly in his mind.

There was a sharp jerk as if a dart ray had hit the jumper, then there was a blinding light, and the next thing Rodney knew, he was approaching Earth. Hoping to God it was the right Earth, Rodney started frantically tapping on his laptop to determine where he was. It had been so easy, too easy, and he couldn't believe he was actually in Comic Book World. Although, if he wasn't, that meant he was approaching his own world and that would bring its own host of issues. It that was the case, he hoped some Air Force flunky didn’t shoot him down.

When he saw information about the Luthors appear on his laptop, he grinned madly. The grin didn't last long, as this was only the first step of his insane plan, but just the fact that he'd succeeded at this was a very good sign, one that Rodney would happily cling to. 

As the jumper entered the atmosphere, he engaged the cloak, not wanting to alert any military presence. Rodney put his hand on the controls, but the jumper didn't seem to require any assistance. Rodney was fine with that. He touched his pocket, making sure the supplies he'd taken from the infirmary were safe and intact. 

Pulling up a grid, he pinpointed Kansas, and then Smallville. Hoping Lex's mansion would be quite visible even from a distance, he began looking out the viewport. Taking back control, he did his best to land without commotion in Lex's back yard. He winced as he took out one tree and several bushes, landing on a flower bed. He hoped like hell there wasn't a gardener around as he thought off at the puddle jumper. 

Taking the remote control, he opened the back hatch, walked to the edge, made sure no one was in sight, and stepped off. He used the remote to shut the hatch and then cloak the jumper. 

Wishing determinedly that Lex was at home and with Clark, and hopefully not naked so they could leave right away, Rodney strode for the front door.


	5. Chapter 5

*****  
Martha, stunned, and Jonathan, still skeptical, finally took their leave. Lex was reeling from the second hug Martha had given him. "You're part of our family now," she told him. "Ever since we had Clark, we've been doing our best to keep him safe, and now you can help. Are helping. In fact, you've done more to help him in the last couple of months than we have in years."

"Not true," Lex said staunchly. "You've helped make him feel normal. Helped him fit in. Given him a life, a sense of who he is, a moral compass. Trust me, those will hold him in good stead much more than flying and an invulnerability to Kryptonite."

"Together," Martha said, squeezing his hand, "we'll keep him safe."

"Together," Lex said, squeezing back, feeling elated and exonerated, and wishing fiercely that Martha was his mother as well. Although that would make Clark his brother and it was best not to go there.

A few minutes later, Clark and Lex were alone. "That went over better than I thought it would," Lex mused.

"My father must be the most stubborn man on the planet," Clark groused.

"I think your mother is more stubborn, and I suspect he'll come around," Lex answered with a grin. Unless Jonathan planned on spending the rest of his life sleeping on the couch.

Clark wrinkled his nose as if he knew that sex and his parents were implied in Lex's comment. 

There was a knock on the door. Lex moved to answer it, wondering if the Kents had returned. "Yes?"

Enrique said, "There's a Dr. McKay demanding to see you." 

Before Lex could even begin to process that extraordinary announcement, the actual Rodney McKay pushed past Enrique, saying, "Thank God, you're here. Where's Clark? Ah, there you are. Come on, we need to go." Once fully in the room, he said, again, in rising frantic decibels, "Come on, come on, time's a wasting. We need to go now."

Something was clearly wrong; Rodney looked one step away from deranged. 

"Rodney," Lex said in his most executive tone, trying to stop Rodney's imminent explosion. "What's going on?"

"John, Teyla, everyone," Rodney said bluntly, hollowly, "they've all been taken by the Wraith. And Ford's dead."

Lex heard Clark's gasp, felt his own stomach turn. While he'd been spared the experience of watching someone lose decades of their life and get aged prematurely, he had watched Clark writhe in pain when the Wraith attacked him. And Aiden. With a pang, Lex thought of how young he'd been, and how helpful and nice.

"I'm the only one left," Rodney said helplessly, grabbing at Lex's shirt collar. "Me! And I can't do anything on my own. I need you to help me reconfigure the jumper with a hyperdrive."

Lex blinked at him. He was inordinately flattered that Rodney actually thought he could reconfigure a hyperdrive, but that didn't negate the fact that while he'd learned a tremendous amount of advanced physics over the last two months working on the dart, he was hardly at Rodney's level. "Rodney," he began.

"You have to help me," Rodney yelled, shaking Lex, practically rattling his teeth. "You have to."

"You know I'll do anything I can," Lex managed to say amongst the onslaught, "but it might make more sense to get you scientists that are actually familiar with the concept of wormholes." He put his hands over Rodney's, needing the shaking to stop. "Rodney," he said sternly, when it didn't seem like he was getting through.

Clark intervened and took Rodney's hands off of Lex. "Rodney. Stop. We can't help you when you're crazy."

Rodney sloppily drew in a breath, the sound more like an indrawn sob than actual breathing. "Please," he managed to get out.

"You know we'll help," Lex said. "Do you want me to get you some scientists? I can have them here in a few hours."

Rodney started shaking his head vehemently. "No. I can't stay here that long. Don't you understand?" he asked urgently. "Every second we delay, John could be dying. They all could be dying." Suddenly seeming to catch his breath, he added, "Lex, you can help me. Your brain works like mine. All…" His hand made a convoluted motion in the air, as if screwing in a light bulb.

"All?" Lex prompted him, curious despite the urgency. 

"Leaps," Rodney said. "Your mind takes leaps, like mine."

Pushing aside an immense pride that Rodney McKay, multiple Ph.D. recipient and genius extraordinaire, thought that Lex's mind worked like his, Lex said as modestly as he could under the circumstances, "I'll try. Of course."

"And I'll help," Clark said. "Whatever you need. The Wraith can't hurt me."

Rodney flashed Clark a quick manic grin. "You'll be my secret weapon."

Clark grinned back reassuringly.

"What else do you need?" Lex asked, all business, his phone open. "Weapons? Supplies?" 

"Nothing," Rodney said. "I've got plenty of weapons, I just need you two, and we need to go now."

"Clark," Lex said, turning back to the matter at hand, "go get the supplies from the basement." To Rodney, he said, "Where's your ship?"

"Back yard," Rodney said with a wince. "I killed some bushes."

Lex waved off that concern. Clark nodded at him and was gone.

"What supplies?" Rodney asked, almost pulling out his hair. "I said we didn't need supplies. We can't waste anymore time."

Lex held up a silencing hand at Rodney as Enrique came in. "I'll be leaving for a few days; I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. Please cancel all my appointments, and use one of the scenarios we've discussed to explain my absence."

"Of course," Enrique said smoothly. "Anything else?"

"No," Lex said. "Thank you."

"Very good, sir," Enrique said, leaving the room.

"Oh," Rodney said as he grappled with the pocket of his jacket. "I need to inject you with the gene. I know it only works fifty percent of the time, but we'll have to hope it works on you, because I need someone who can fly the jumper. I can manage in open space, but maneuvering around a hive ship takes a little more finesse, and considering the cars you drive, I figure--"

Rodney was talking so fast, Lex had to put his hand over his mouth so he could interrupt. This wasn't something he'd discussed with anyone, including Clark, but he'd already injected himself with the gene. After seeing how John was able to protect Clark with his body, Lex had injected himself, hoping he'd at least be able to offer Clark that much assistance in case the gene therapy didn't work or wore off. "I already did."

Rodney stared at him. "You did?" 

Lex nodded.

"Did it work?"

Lex shrugged. "I have no idea. You didn't leave anything behind except my naquadah battery and the Wraith dart, and I couldn't test it on Clark because the therapy worked." And, even though it had been supremely stupid, he'd also injected himself with some of Clark's blood. He supposed he should count himself lucky he hadn't died right then and there, but nothing had happened at all as far as Lex could ascertain.

And maybe it was selfish, and maybe not everything Rodney had said about him when they'd first met had been a lie, because if there was a chance Lex could grab a little extra power for himself at no cost to anyone else, he was going for it.

Rodney pulled out one of the lifesigns detectors he'd had last time and handed it to Lex. The thing buzzed to life in Lex's hands.

"Thank God," Rodney said, grabbing it back. "I hope your talent at driving your cars translates to the jumpers."

"It will," Lex said confidently. Truly, he had no idea, but he couldn't wait to try. He was beside himself at the thought that he was going to get to fly a space ship.

"Can we go?" Rodney demanded hotly. "Where did Clark go?"

"Just on the off chance you came back," Lex said, "I had some supplies pulled together to give you."

"Really?" Rodney asked, clearly taken aback, but unable not to look hopeful. He shot Lex a lopsided smile combined with a very anticipative look. "Coffee?"

"And chocolate," Lex said with a grin, "and a lot of other things."

Clark swooped into the room. "I can't get into the jumper."

Rodney handed him the remote. "It's the bottom button; it opens the back hatch."

Clark zoomed away in a blur. Lex strode after him, Rodney trotting behind. In seconds, Clark was back. "Go home and pack a bag," Lex instructed Clark, "then pack one for me."

Clark was gone again. "He'll be back before we get to the jumper," Lex assured Rodney, who was actually wringing his hands. Lex could already hear Clark upstairs opening drawers at super speed. Hopefully he'd checked to make sure the maid wasn't in the room. If she was, Lex would deal with that when he returned.

Lex quickly glanced at his e-mails, to see if there was anything he had to attend to before shutting down his laptop. He decided there wasn't anything that couldn't wait, or that Enrique couldn't deal with, and quickly shut it down.

He grabbed his laptop bag and slipped the laptop inside of it, checking his desk for any other items he might want to bring along. He was almost out of the office when he remembered something potentially vital and he raced to his safe and opened it up, retrieving a piece of tech from the Wraith Dart, a file, and a flash drive. He pocketed all of it and then almost ran into Clark who had returned in a blur of denim and flannel. "Everything in the jumper?"

Clark nodded. Rodney was already striding out the door, not even checking to see if Lex and Clark were following him. 

When he got outside, Lex winced when he saw the flattened rose garden. Miguel would be furious when he saw that. When Lex saw the tree and the bushes, he sighed and then chose to let it go as unimportant. Miguel would just have to deal.

The jumper was now filled with boxes, as well as his and Clark's bags, and Rodney had already gotten a box open and was gobbling down a chocolate bar, gesturing impatiently. 

Moving into the ship, Lex stashed his laptop bag carefully. "Does your mom know you're leaving?" Lex asked Clark as he took the pilot's seat, Rodney next to him, and Clark behind him.

"Yeah, just her, though. I figured my dad would have a heart attack."

"He does, you know," Rodney threw back. "He’s in his late forties when it happens, I think, and it kills him."

Clark shot Lex an anxious and startled look.

Lex reached back to put his hand on his knee. "That's several years from now, Clark. There is plenty of time to get him to listen to reason and adjust his behavior."

Clark actually grinned at him. "Like an anger management class?"

Lex snorted. "Exactly."

"Can we go?" Rodney snapped with a totally put upon sigh. "Now?"

"Tell me what to do," Lex said, eyes back on the console.

"It sort of reads your mind," Rodney said, "so just think on."

Lex grinned widely. "For real?" He laughed with pleasure, shot Clark a glance, and saw that he was giving Lex his you-are-such-a-dork affectionate smile. Lex didn't care. If being a dork meant that he got to fly a spaceship with his mind, he'd wear a dork crown. He thought on at the ship and bit back a gasp when he felt it power up under him, the console lighting and displays appearing in the air above his head. "That is so cool."

"I know," Rodney said, with a moment of glee, no doubt punctuated by the second candy bar he was ripping open. An instant later, the smile slid off his face and he said sharply. "Go. Up. Keep the cloak on."

Obeying, keeping his mind on up and cloak, Lex couldn't help grinning widely as the ship, puddlejumper, he corrected himself, lifted off the ground and was out of the atmosphere and in space in seconds. He was flying a spaceship! Unbelievable. He’d laugh out loud if the circumstances weren’t so grim. “Where am I going?”

“To Atlantis,” Rodney said. "Think really hard at it, and tell it you want to go back to Atlantis. Hopefully, it will just do it. It's not like using a puddle jumper to hop from one dimension to another is covered in the owner's manual."

The puddle jumper rocked suddenly and Lex asked sharply, "Is that normal?"

"Yeah," Rodney said, looking at the displays. "We're back in the Pegasus Galaxy.

Lex felt it hard to take a breath and, at first, he assumed it was the shock of being in another galaxy; it was almost too much to take in. But then he realized it really was hard to take a breath. His chest felt tight, too tight, a building pressure, as if something inside of him wanted to burst out. "Clark," he cried out.

"What's wrong?" Clark asked, moving up to crouch by Lex. "What's wrong?" He turned to Rodney, asking, "What's wrong with him?"

His skin felt as if it were tearing apart, he was sweating, panting, and his vision began to blur as he struggled to breathe.

"Lex!" Clark cried. To Rodney, he demanded, "What's happening to him?"

"I don't know! I'm not a doctor!"

Lex could barely hear their voices, too caught up in the all-consuming pain taking over his body, as if his body was remaking itself into something entirely different but, to do it, his current cells needed to die in the most excruciating way possible. His skin was on fire, agony tearing across his body like a raging forest fire.

The pain continued to grow until it surged past the point of his ability to stay conscious. He tried to reach out for Clark, but all he managed to do was collapse into his arms before everything went black.

*****

"He's burning up!" Clark yelled. 

And he was, even Rodney could see the steam rising from Lex's body. His mind frantically tried to figure out what could be making him sick like this. "I don't understand why this is happening."

"We have to go back. It's this place, it's killing him!" Clark held Lex closely, and as Rodney watched, Lex began to seize.

"We have to go back," Rodney said to the jumper. "Take us back to Comic Book World." And he wanted it to go back, at least partly, because he didn't want Lex to die, certainly didn't want to be responsible for Lex dying, but he was also deathly afraid that if they went back, he'd miss any chance for saving John.

The jumper ignored him, making its way to Atlantis. Rodney felt a little ashamed at how relieved he was.

Clark was in tears now, holding Lex as tight as he could so he wouldn't hurt himself hitting the jumper as his limbs jerked, given the tight quarters they were in. 

"It won't go back," Rodney said, putting the jumper on automatic pilot, focusing on Lex. "Is he still…I mean at least we know he's still alive, right, because he's…you know, his body is moving." That had to be a good sign, right? A bad sign too, of course, because seizing was bad, but at least it showed he wasn't dead. Yet.

Except then Lex stopped seizing and lay limp in Clark's arms. 

"Oh, God," Clark cried, grabbing at Lex. "Oh, God, don't be dead. Don't be dead." 

Rodney put his hand on Lex's pulse point in his neck, having had to do this for John too many times to count. "It's there. I can feel it. His heart is beating." It was beating way too fast, but it was beating.

They sat there for what felt like a long time, watching Lex's chest rise and fall. Clark placed his fingers where Rodney's had been, no doubt feeling his pulse as well. "His skin is still so hot; I know he has a fever. What happened?" His eyes, now turned on Rodney, looked so young and frightened.

"I don't know." He'd give half a dozen chocolate bars for Carson Beckett right now, even if anything he recommended would probably be ridiculous, like 'all he needs is a wee little nap', or 'let's give him some Tylenol and he'll be right as rain'. But at least Rodney could blame Carson for whatever went wrong. This all felt like his fault, and he had no idea what to do. "Let's get down there and we can put him in the infirmary." Rodney was sure he could get some of the diagnostic equipment to work. If Carson could do, anyone could do it.

He urged the jumper to move faster and in this the jumper complied, and soon they were landing in the jumper bay. Clark easily lifted Lex, and Rodney had to run to keep up with the kid, even though he was carrying Lex. Superman. Right. They arrived at the infirmary, Rodney panting for breath.

"Right, right," Rodney said, thinking the equipment on as Clark lay Lex down as directed. He stared at it, as it scanned Lex's body, waiting for it to tell them something useful.

Lex's eyes opened and Clark gasped. Rodney looked over and let out a yelp of his own. Lex's eyes were glowing.

"Lex?" Clark asked, taking one of Lex's hands in both of his, holding it against his chest. "Lex?"

Eyes glowing, Lex didn't acknowledge Clark in any way.

Clark shook him a little. "Lex! Talk to me."

Rodney stared at the display supposedly conveying all of Lex's internal medical secrets. All his organs were still where they were supposed to be, at least at first glance. He focused in on the parts of the display that were blinking. Pulse high, blood pressure high, temperature really high. "Uh, should we try to get his temperature down?" As far as Rodney knew the temperature being shown wasn't really compatible with life.

Lex's arm suddenly moved and his fingers jammed into the readout console on the side of the bed.

Afraid Lex would break it, Rodney snapped out a warning, but then he realized that everything was still working fine. He moved closer and saw that rather than broken equipment or broken fingers, it appeared as if Lex's fingers had gone through the equipment. Like Lex's fingers were inside it, but without having broken the surface. Like he'd merged with the thing. "Okay, that's just wrong," Rodney said, peering closer, creeped out, but unable to resist poking at Lex's fingers. They still felt like fingers.

He didn't touch him for long, though, because his skin really was hot. As hot as the temperature readout was, Lex should be stewing inside his own skin. And that was an image Rodney hadn't needed in his mind.

"Rodney McKay," an electronic voice said behind him.

With an "eep", Rodney spun around and saw a shimmering shape, roughly humanoid, standing in the middle of the room. "What are you?"

"I am the Atlantis avatar," the avatar said. "I have been awakened from sleep mode by Lex Luthor and I am ready to assist you." Her voice was electronic but it was also clearly a woman's voice, and her shape was female as well. 

"Lex Luthor?" Rodney demanded. "Why the hell didn't you wake up for us? For me?" He knew he was being petty, but he'd poured his literal and figurative blood out for this city. What the hell sort of bullshit was this?

"I am the Atlantis avatar," the avatar said again, completely ignoring Rodney's complaints. "How may I assist you?"

Not programmed for witty repartee, obviously, Rodney thought with a sneer. If it wanted to stick to the facts, Rodney could give it facts. He'd smother her with facts. Rodney was the king of facts. He'd reprogram it later so he could yell at it in a more satisfactory manner. "I need a jumper outfitted with a hyperdrive as fast as we can get it."

"For what purpose?" the avatar asked.

"What's wrong with Lex?" Clark demanded of the avatar. "What are you doing to him?"

"Lex Luthor is learning Atlantis," the avatar said. "We are not doing anything to him."

"His eyes are glowing," Clark yelled. "That's not normal. What's happening to him?"

Rodney wanted to interrupt so badly, he wanted John back so badly, it was all he could do not to scream. He actually bit his knuckles to stop himself from speaking. But he needed Clark. Clark was his secret weapon. And, yes, Lex's eyes were glowing, and yeah, sure, his fingers were sort of merging with Atlantis, but he was there, right in front of them. John was maybe being fed on by a wraith this very second.

"Atlantis is changing him," the avatar said.

"Into what!" Clark yelled again. "I want him back. Now!"

"He is not a prisoner," the avatar said. "He is undergoing this change of his own free will."

Clark looked like he wanted to smack his fist into the avatar, standing there red-faced, hands fisted, chest heaving with frustration. Seizing the brief lull, Rodney said quickly, "I need to follow a wraith ship who took everyone here prisoner."

"How many prisoners were taken?" the avatar asked.

"What does that matter?" Rodney bit out, anxious to get things moving.

"How many prisoners were taken?" the avatar repeated.

Rodney whipped out his life signs detector again and ran some numbers. It was depressing how many they'd already lost, and they hadn't started with that many. "Ninety-two." 

"Then the puddle jumpers, as you call them, will not be sufficient for a rescue."

"We'll find a gate when we get there," Rodney said, mind thinking furiously, reeling with the truth that he'd been mostly thinking of John, and John would definitely fit in a puddle jumper. But almost a hundred people in need of rescue wouldn't fit. "We'll find a planet with a gate on it."

Clark stepped up to the avatar and reached out to grab her arm but his fingers went right through her. "I don't believe you," Clark told her. "Lex wouldn't leave me. He wouldn't change into something without talking to me about it."

"The change began the moment he came to this galaxy," the avatar said. "Once begun, it could not be undone."

"Then why isn't it affecting me?" Clark demanded.

"You are already what he is changing into," the avatar said calmly, as if that fact wasn't a jaw-dropper.

"What?" Rodney said.

"What?" Clark said. "What do you mean?" He turned to Rodney. "What does she mean?"

"Would not a larger ship be of greater worth?" the avatar asked Rodney.

"Uh," Rodney said. What had she meant by that comment about Clark? And that wasn't the point. He needed to focus. "I don't suppose you just happen to have one in your back pocket?"

"I do not have a back pocket," the avatar said, "but I do have a ship. Three ships."

That was the moment that Lex began to glow all over. "Holy crap," Rodney said, taking several large steps away from the bed. "Is he gonna blow?"

"What?" Clark practically shrieked. "You think he's going to explode?" He moved to Rodney and started shaking him. "Make it stop! Make it stop now!"

"He will not explode," the avatar said in what Rodney now considered her freakishly unexpressive voice.

Rodney stared at the avatar. He stared at Clark. He stared at a still glowing Lex. He blinked a few times, trying to decide what to tackle first. Deciding, he scowled at the avatar, saying, "No you don't. You've been asleep for at least ten thousand years. If there was a ship here, I'd have found it." He kept one wary eye on Lex, and did his best to keep Clark from throwing himself on the glow pyre, not that Clark couldn't have pulled out of Rodney's grasp at any time.

The avatar was silent for a long time, and Rodney felt like pulling his hair out, as it seemed to take forever. "There are two ships," the avatar announced, and she put up a map on the large screen. There was a bleeping signal over a part of the city they hadn't been able to get to because of flooding.

"I would have picked up their signal," Rodney argued. "Unless they're not functional, in which case they're no good to me." A faint stirring of hope teased Rodney, and if it got him John he was willing to embrace the tendril of optimism tugging at him. "Are they still functioning?"

In answer, Rodney's detector started beeping loudly, and he stared at it as it suddenly showed two signals he'd never seen before. "Are you kidding me?" he yelled. 

"They were merely in sleep mode," the avatar said calmly. "I believe both ships are fitted with hyper-drive capability."

"Lex," Rodney said, "when you're human again, I'm kissing you."

"No, you're not," Clark said, looking suddenly all Supermanish and pouty at the same time.

"No, I'm not," Rodney agreed. "But we need to go." He turned back to the avatar. "Can you come with us?"

"I can." She blipped out. 

Rodney looked at the map, trying to figure out the closest transporter. Then he came to a screeching halt. Clark wouldn't leave Lex. Rodney knew he wouldn't. He worried his bottom lip, thinking. And that was when he noticed the tentacles at the edges of Lex's glow. A flush of relief swamped him. "Oh, oh, I know what this is. He's an Ancient, or he's trying to become one."

"He's a what?" Clark asked, staring at Rodney, at Lex, at Rodney.

Rodney waved his hands through the air. "Long story. But we've seen them, here and on Earth. Well, maybe not on Earth, I can't remember exactly, but definitely in the Milky Way Galaxy. Remind me, sometime, to introduce you to Daniel Jackson. And remind me never to introduce you to Ch--" he grimaced. "Never mind."

He moved to Lex and said, "Hey, stop glowing and take on a corporeal form. We need to go rescue John and you're wasting time." Rodney had no idea if that was going to work, but it was the best he had. 

Instead of obeying, though, Lex, still in his glow state, moved off the bed and engulfed Clark.

Clark let out a groan and his head fell back. 

"Oh, my God," Rodney said, appalled, "you're having glowy sex aren't you? Right here in front of me. Stop it! Stop it right now!" He scrambled several feet back. "We have to rescue John. Stop having glowy sex!" Although, Rodney thought bitterly, it sort of served John right that his rescue was being delayed by glowy sex. Thoughts of Chaya still made Rodney hot with jealousy, even though he'd refused to label it as such at the time.

Lex moved away, and Rodney could swear there was an air of smugness in the shade of his glow.

Clark, on the other hand, coughed and was beet-red with embarrassment. "Sorry. Wow! I didn't know that was going to happen." 

Rodney could totally see that Clark wished it would happen again right this second and did his best to avoid the afterglow languidness in Clark's body. He just humphed at Clark, and then turned to Lex. "Hey, glow-boy, think you can keep your hands to yourself?" 

The smugness intensified.

"Can you come back to me?" Clark asked, moving closer, but not close enough to touch. He put his hands out as if warming himself in front of a fire. "Please? I can't do this without you."

"Right now we can use him either way, so grab your glowy boyfriend, we have to go." Rodney started trotting out of the infirmary. "I'm getting weapons," he said, aiming for the armory.

He grabbed several rifles and pistols and a lot of ammunition, thinking that John and Bates, and anyone else who was still standing, might appreciate a weapon of their own. He tried to lift the bag, but could only drag it out to the hallway. Clark and glowy Lex were waiting for him, most of Clark's attention on Lex. He looked like there'd been some more glowy touching going on. Rodney rolled his eyes and gestured for Clark to take the bag, and he slung it on his shoulder like it was a lightweight jacket. Convenient, Rodney thought.

"Let's go, let's go!" he said to Clark and the glowy ball of Lex who was hovering right behind Clark. He pulled out his life signs detector and tried to figure out the best way to reach the blinking lights that pinpointed the location of the ships. "I think a jumper would be the fastest way to get there," he decided and headed toward the jumper bay, followed by Clark and his own personal glow sex toy.

*****


	6. Chapter 6

*****

The avatar appeared in their puddle jumper and directed them to the larger ship, which had a bay door that allowed the jumper to glide in. Once on the bridge, Rodney took a few minutes to familiarize himself with the controls, taking in the weapons array, noting it was a fully armed destroyer. 

Hot with frustration, he spun to the avatar. "Why didn't you show yourself to us? You must have known we were dying, that the Wraith the Ancients created were still around and still a threat. We could have used your knowledge. Most of the people who are dead might still be alive if we'd known there was a ship like this."

"I was not on-line," the avatar said. "I am unable to offer assistance unless I am on-line."

"So why didn't Janus or whoever created you leave us a hint? I hate to say this, lady, or Atlantis, or whatever name you want to be called, but your people were idiots."

"I have no known identifier similar to what you would call a name," she responded, as if that was all Rodney had bitched about.

"What is your identifier?" Rodney asked.

"I go by Avatar 9602543.234.74291."

"Idiots," Rodney grumbled. "Why did they create you if the intention wasn't to allow you to be used? They knew they were leaving the solar system, had to know that others of their kind who might not know of the avatar might return."

"I have no response to your query."

"They leave information about useless experiments, and purged the database of anything that might save us, like you, like this ship, like where we can find more ZedPMs. It's infuriating." Rodney was huffing by the time he was done, his voice escalating, finding in the avatar a worthwhile being to vent his months' long despair at his helplessness at finding worthwhile solutions. All he'd been able to do was pull a half-crazed rabbit out of his hat that got them through one crisis after another, but none of it helped them long-term.

"ZedPM?" the avatar asked.

"Yes, the energy modules that run the city. We only have one left and it is almost depleted."

"I can assist you with this."

Rodney's eyes almost bugged out of his head. "What?"

"I can assist you with this."

"You know where there are ZedPMs?" Rodney squeaked out. He caught something out of the corner of his eye and yelled, "No glowy sex. Cut it out!"

Clark took a step away from Lex, looking contrite.

"Where are they?" he asked the avatar.

"I have access to the information in the database that will allow you to recharge the energy modules you have and make new ones."

That was better than nothing but still a long way from having a working ZedPM handed to him. "How long will it take to do it?" God only knows what perverted physics he'd have to learn before even being able to apply it; nothing worked here the way it should.

"I believe it will take you 1.2 years to assimilate the necessary information and to apply the knowledge to recreate an energy module."

"Lovely," Rodney said sarcastically. Naturally. However, he was sure he could do it in less time. Yes, the Ancients were the gate builders and built Atlantis, but underneath all of that glittery knowledge lay a stupendous stupidity and arrogance, and yes, Rodney had been accused of being arrogant a time or two, but he had lives to save, and he, as opposed to the Ancients, had no intention of wasting his time creating creatures that would bite him on the ass when he wasn't looking. "Forward that information to my laptop," he instructed, tapping the laptop in question, once he pulled it out of his backpack.

She didn't demur, so Rodney let that go and turned back to the controls. "I need to follow a specific hyper-drive trail. Is there a mechanism already created to do that?"

"No," she said.

"Of course not," he said. He snapped his fingers at Lex. "Listen, I’m sure you're having fun being a glowy tentacle thing, but what I really need right now is your brain, and being the way you are makes you useless to me." To the avatar he said, "Is there a way to turn him back to human?"

"No," she said.

"Oh, come on," Rodney protested. "That's all I get? Can you guess? Throw around a hypothesis or two? The answer's never no. Never."

"The power to change him back rests within him. I have no further information on the subject. He is an ascended. He can shift between this shape and a human shape. I was never instructed on the actual mathematical equations related to the shift."

Rodney stared at her, then sighed and dropped his head. If Janus were standing here in front of him, he'd shoot him. "What were you instructed on?" he asked as patiently as he could, waiting, as every nerve ending frayed with frustration.

"I am intimately familiar with all of Atlantis' systems, including all of her smaller vehicles. I am trained in repair, in searching the database for required information."

"Then search the database for anything about hyper-drive windows. Start with the hyper-drive algorithm I created that is also on this laptop. I have a reading of the hyper-drive created by the hive ship and we need to follow it. Display whatever information you find and its source there," and Rodney pointed to the large monitor in the middle of the room.

Then he turned to Lex and frowned. "Figure out a way to change back. Now."

"Rodney," Clark broke in insistently. "What happened to Lex? And what the hell did she mean when she said I was already one? Explain it to me now."

And it was really weird, because it was like Superman was standing in front of him, years older, arms crossed across his chest, glaring at the bad guys. Who was not him! "Back off, Superman," Rodney said with an imperious hand. "I had no idea this was going to happen. And if I did, I would have thought it would have happened to you. Are you feeling any urge to go glowy?"

Clark looked at his hand, so Rodney did too, but nothing happened. Rodney pulled out a life signs detector and handed it to Clark. Nothing happened. 

Heavily sighing, Rodney did his best to marshal his thoughts. "As I said in the jumper, the Ancients built this city but, at some point, they wanted to move to a higher plane." Rodney said this with a great deal of incredulity because why? "So they ascended, sort of became these omnipotent beings who could choose to be corporeal or not. We met one once, who turned out to be a complete slut, because as soon as we met her she went after John."

Clark, despite his apparent concern, bit back a grin. 

Rodney narrowed his eyes at Clark. "Anyway, she was one of these idiots, and she refused to help us, saying the rest of the ascended Ancients would stop her. But Lex here, if Lex has suddenly taken a left turn from his genetics and decided that here, in this galaxy, he's an ascended Ancient, they might not have any power over him. And that means I have two ridiculously powerful beings to go rescue John, assuming I can find John and I need Lex for that." And that brought him back to his plea for Lex to stop the glowing.

"If those other Ancients are around, won't they sense him or something? And what would they do to him?"

"What can they do to him when he's got you?"

That got Clark standing up a little straighter. "But what did she mean when she said he was turning into what I was? I'm not one of these Ancients. I'm from a whole different planet."

"That might have been seeded with Ancients. They were the whores of the universe after all. Although it doesn't make sense you can't work the Ancient equipment if that was the case." He thought furiously for a moment. "You might be from a whole faction of previously ascended Ancients who decided to unascend and labeled themselves something else. Or maybe your people were kin to the Ancients, but you needed an Earth sun to wake up your powers. That's your origin story courtesy of DC. We'll never know for sure, unfortunately, because your planet went kaboom."

At the shocked hurt look in Clark's eyes, Rodney sighed. "Sorry. I just want John back, okay?" The hurt look on Clark's face morphed into one of compassion. Rodney hated pity, but he'd take it. "Get him to change back. I need his brain. I need him to work with me, because not only do we need to find a way to follow the hive ship, but once we find it, we can't just set you loose on it. I don't know where any of my people are. They may be in the darts, they may be cocooned already. We have to rescue everybody without getting destroyed."

He grabbed at Clark's shirt and shook him. "I can't do this on my own! I’m used to John yelling at me, telling me I can't do it, and he's not here! And he may be getting tortured right now and I can't do anything about it because Lex is a glowy sex toy!" Rodney thought he might explode into a thousand angry pieces of shrapnel.

"I think I’m a little more than a glowy sex toy," Lex said dryly.

"Oh, thank God," Rodney said, hugging the man and then stepping back just as quickly. "No sex."

"I promise," Lex said, smirking.

Clark grabbed Lex and hugged him tightly enough that Lex started to get glowy in response. No doubt to keep from being crushed in Clark's enthusiasm. 

"Stop it immediately," Rodney ordered, yanking Lex from Clark's grip, fast, before Clark could think to hold on to him. It's not like Rodney could actually take Lex from Clark if Clark didn't want him to. Not without someone getting hurt, probably him.

"You," Rodney said to the avatar. "Show him everything you've got on hyperdrives." He spun to Lex. "You, sit down and learn." To Clark he said, "You, make us coffee."

Clark frowned at him. "I can learn. I can read faster than all of you combined and I remember everything I read. I’m not just here for coffee."

Rodney blew out a breath, one step away from losing it. They'd wasted so much time already and he needed a cup of coffee! Now!

"Read with me," Lex said, beckoning Clark over. He gave Rodney a look that prior to Rodney having to deal with the Wraith might have intimidated him, but now he just gave a look back. Lex might be all that, but he wasn't John Sheppard.

"Rodney," Lex said, pulling back a little on the look. "This will take a little while. I have to learn, and Clark can help. Why don't you go make coffee? You know where it is, and we don't. I know I could use a cup."

"Me, too," Clark said defiantly.

Lex shot Clark a look, and said, "You'd be just as impatient if the Wraith had me."

Contrite, Clark grimaced and moved closer to Lex. "Sorry."

"Fine," Rodney sniped. "But for the record, I don't know where it is because I've never been on this ship before." He humphed in their general direction before turning to the avatar, "Where's the kitchen? The mess, the…where they make the food?" With horror, he suddenly realized they wouldn't have coffee. Oh my God. "Never mind," he said, and made a bee-line back to the jumper. The jumper had coffee and, with his engineering expertise, he'd be able to jury rig something in this ship to brew it. 

*****

Lex grinned up at Clark. "Okay?" Rodney could be a lot to take.

"Me?" Clark asked incredulously. "You went all glowy and Rodney thinks my people were glowy once. Why did you go all glowy?"

Slowly, wincing, Lex said, "I have a small confession to make." His palms were sweaty and it wasn't from being glowy. This could go very badly.

"What?" Clark said, alarmed. "What did you do?"

"Remember when I told you I took some of the gene therapy?"

Clark nodded.

"Well," Lex said reluctantly, "I also injected myself with some of your blood."

"Are you crazy?" Clark said, pushing away from Lex so he could properly glare at him. "That could have killed you! Lex, why? Don't you trust me?"

"What?" Lex asked, shocked. "Of course I trust you. Where did that question come from? I trust you more than anyone I've ever known, ever will know."

"Then, why?"

Lex stood and pulled Clark next to him, wrapping his arms around him. "I had a lot of reasons. Some of them were altruistic, and some of them, well, were less so."

"Start with the good reasons first," Clark demanded.

"It was before the gene therapy worked, and I thought it might give me a small amount of your powers, enough to help protect you in case it didn't work."

Clark didn't look convinced. "And?"

"Let's go with the less good reasons first."

"Why?" Now he was looking suspicious. Lex did not like that look on Clark's face when he was gazing at Lex. He didn't like it at all, and it made him think of all the things Rodney had said about him, and made him wonder if Clark would be looking at him like this in the future, or maybe in some other reality. Maybe they were destined to become arch-enemies, and they were fooling themselves.

"Okay, okay," Clark said, hands out, face alarmed as if talking down a wild animal. "Whatever you're thinking, just stop it. I'm sorry I'm so freaked, but I just need you to explain it to me so I can understand." He studied Lex, frowning. "I love you. Nothing's going to change that, and I know you love me, and that's all that matters."

Lex hung on to his words like a life preserver, pulling him from the sea of what-ifs that always seemed to be tugging him down into the riptides. He sagged into the chair and pulled Clark close, resting his face against Clark's hard-as-rocks belly.

Clark ran his hands over Lex's scalp as if he still knew that Lex wasn't all the way back from whatever bad place he'd gone. "Just talk to me."

"There's this gap between us, Clark. And I know it doesn't seem like a big deal most of the time, because you're so human. But, you're not. And I thought, well, I don't know what I was thinking, but I thought if I could be more like you, then that gap would get smaller. Maybe I'd be stronger, maybe I'd…maybe I'd live longer."

Clark didn't say anything for a long moment, but then he kneeled until their foreheads pressed together. "When that thing fed on me, back on our own planet, when I said that maybe it had taken some years from me, that's what I was feeling too. Like the difference between us was maybe smaller."

"You don't need to worry about that anymore," Lex told him with a smile, suddenly able to release all his anxieties about that particular nightmare in light of what he now knew, "and you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because when I'm getting old or sick, we can come here and live together forever. I might have to be glowy some of the time, but if I have the type of power you have here, then we'll just live here."

The relief in Clark's eyes made Lex want to cry, and he wished he'd realized just how much this had been bothering Clark. Not that he'd have been able to do much about it on their Earth, but maybe injecting that syringe of Clark's blood had been one of the best decisions he'd ever made.

"And now," Lex said, kissing Clark quickly, "we better start learning, or Rodney will kill us both when he gets back." They moved to the monitor and began to study the information the avatar had given them. 

*****

"What I don't understand," Rodney said an hour later, taking a short break from his calculations, "is why they took everyone. Why didn't they feed there? They barely killed anyone. Lieutenant Ford and a couple of other marines and that's it. Why take them away? And why not stay? Their fastest route to Earth is through Atlantis. None of it makes sense."

It had taken surprisingly little time to find the means to use Rodney's hyperdrive algorithm, and they were currently following the route the Wraith had taken. But between tracking down Lex and Clark, and figuring the best way to utilize the hyperdrive algorithm, they'd lost an entire day, and Rodney was chafing at the delay. If the Wraith had come out of one hyperdrive window and then taken another one, Rodney would not be able to trace it, and the fear ate at his stomach. To make it stop, he kept eating power bars.

He started pacing, could feel Lex and Clark's eyes on him. "Was there some sort of banquet they took them for? Are they stocking a newer larger hive ship with the intention of flying to Earth? Were John and Elizabeth and the rest of them the equivalent of MREs?" Rodney thought he might throw up, his stomach roiling and, for a moment, he was sorry he'd eaten so many power bars. 

"So their M.O. would normally be to stay and do the feeding here?" Lex asked.

"Well, a combination of eating and culling," Rodney mused. "But I watched the fight from space, and considering what I found when I got here, they culled almost everyone." He slapped his hand against the wall. "Ow." He shook his hand out. "It just makes no sense. We know they want Earth; they had the city in their hands. Why did they leave?"

"Could someone have called them back?" Clark asked. "Maybe some sort of Wraith emergency?"

Rodney's lips tightened. God only knew what a Wraith emergency looked like. 

"This is sort of a reach, but is there a way to find out what order the three who died got fed on?" Lex asked.

"Why?" Clark asked with a grimace. "What difference would that make?"

"As a businessman, if I'm about to launch a huge campaign, one I've sunk money or staff-time in, there's only one reason I'd abandon it."

Rodney stared at him for a moment, letting the words settle, and then he snapped his fingers. "If something better came along."

"Something a lot better," Lex agreed. "Something worth walking away from your investment."

"So what would be better than Earth?" Rodney said. "There are billions of people just waiting to get snapped up."

"Our Earth," Clark said. He turned to Lex, "That's where you're going with this, right? That Wraith fed on me, and he was pretty excited about it. He said something about how they would last forever if they could feed on people like me. There was no way he could know I'm the only one like that." He frowned, "But that Wraith died."

"But Ford knew about it," Rodney said, feeling suddenly sad that his teammates last memory would be the knowledge he was giving away secrets.

"But Ford knew about it," Lex agreed. "Chances are they didn't get the entire story because they have no context for it. As Clark said, there's no way for them to guess that Clark is unique, so they probably think that Earth in another reality is filled with people who could supercharge them. That might be worth stopping the campaign for this Earth."

"And they might have learned from Ford that others knew as well, and maybe knew how to get there, so they couldn't afford to kill anyone else," Clark suggested.

"God, I'm such an idiot," Rodney said, slapping his forehead. "Are you able to access surveillance footage from Atlantis?" he asked the avatar. "That hallway where Ford was…where his body is, is under surveillance all the time because it's a main traffic thoroughfare where a lot of alien visitors traverse," he explained to Lex and Clark. "Never mind," he snapped out and grabbed his laptop. "I should have it." 

It took Rodney less than a minute to bring up the surveillance file and another minute more to find the specific moment when Ford was attacked. Rodney had to take a deep breath. Ford was dead. That ridiculously optimistic way-too-young-to-die kid was dead. 

Forcing himself out of the sudden wash of sadness, Rodney watched the sequence, watched the moment the Wraith realized he'd found something new, the way he stared down at the body, at the now old man at his knees, a look of avarice on his ugly face. The Wraith started to smile, then tossed his head back and laughed, before getting to his feet and striding off, barking out orders as he went.

"What is he saying?" he asked the avatar, hoping she knew the Wraith language.

"The exact words are difficult to hear," the avatar said, "but, essentially, he is telling the other Wraith that they cannot feed, that they must all be taken to their queen for questioning."

The Wraith left the hallway and was soon out of sight, but Rodney could still hear him snapping orders out, until he got too far away for that as well.

Good news? They were taken alive. Bad news? They were being taken to the queen to be interrogated. Rodney was not much of a good news kind of guy. "Can this ship go any faster?" he asked the avatar.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the huge delay. I got sick, but now I'm better.

It turned out that it could go faster. A lot faster. If Rodney wasn’t so worried about John, he’d be in geek heaven. This ship had everything, including an impressive weapons array, the ability to cloak, a replicator of sorts for food and beverages and, Rodney whimpered, a room full of ZedPMs. Twenty of them. Twenty full ZedPMs. And the equipment to recharge them. Apparently the avatar hadn’t realized there were charged ZedPMs around. 

“They must have been charged after I was deactivated,” was her conclusion. “I have updated my files.”

Rodney didn’t care about any of that. All he knew was that once he had John back, once he had everyone back, they’d be safe from the Wraith. And, yes, there was a lengthy, and mostly impossible, to-do list standing between now and then, but Rodney wasn’t thinking about that. Well, that’s all he was thinking about, truthfully, but it was hard to make any plans before they knew what they were dealing with, other than: Get John Back.

“I don’t understand why they have so little data on the Wraith,” Lex said with frustration, “when they were what chased the Ancients out of the Pegasus Galaxy.”

“Probably because they also made the Wraith,” Rodney said grumpily, “and didn’t want to leave any evidence around.” He opened a bottle of water he’d brought up from the kitchen area and took a swig.

Clark’s eyebrows rose high on his forehead. “What?”

“Nice, right?” Rodney said disparagingly. “We’ve only been here a year, and we’ve already discovered that the Ancients were dangerously smart and maybe dangerously bored, because the Wraith aren’t the only thing we’ve discovered lying around ready to kill us that were created by the Ancients.”

“We are approaching the end of the hyperdrive window,” the avatar announced in her deadpan voice.

Rodney’s palms started to sweat, and he felt lightheaded, blindly reaching behind him for one of the bridge chairs to sink into. 

“Do we have a plan?” Clark asked, his own voice sounding nervous.

Rodney needed to remember that while Clark might be truly invulnerable, he was only eighteen.

“Cloak us before we exit,” Lex told the avatar.

“Good plan,” Rodney said with a snap of his fingers. He really needed John here to jumpstart his brain. It felt like years since John had yelled at him.

“Then we’ll see what’s going on,” Lex said, clearly the man with a plan. Which was good, because that’s why Rodney went to get him. They needed an Evil Mastermind to fight the Wraith.

It seemed to take forever, but it could only have been a couple of minutes before they were hanging in space staring at a frightening number of Wraith hive ships.

“There’s at least twenty-five of them,” Clark said. “That’s a lot of Wraith.”

“That’s a terrifying number of Wraith,” Rodney said, not wanting to do the math to come up with a minimum number of Wraith, because the figure would stall out his brain. Eight hive ships were enough to subdue Atlantis. Rodney couldn’t remember how many ships forced the Ancients out of the Pegasus Galaxy.

“And we have no way of knowing where John is,” Lex said, pondering the scene.

“I can go look,” Clark said.

“No,” Lex said slowly. “I think I should go.”

“And how are you going to breathe between ships?” Clark said with an unhappy frown.”

Lex started to glow. “I won’t need to breathe.”

“Wait, wait,” Rodney said. “Is there a plan? If they think someone is out there they’ll send out darts, and with that many darts, they’ll find us.”

“Do they know about ascended beings?” Lex asked.

“I don’t know,” Rodney said, thinking about Chaya. Did the Wraith know about Chaya and her protected planet? He didn’t think so; he thought Chaya was able to hide them from the Wraith.

Lex shrugged. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. I can zip through the ships quickly, determine which ones have the people from Atlantis on it, and come back here. At worst, they’ll just think I’m ascended, and if they’re familiar with beings like that, they’ll know there isn’t anything they can do.”

“And once you know what ship they’re on?” Rodney whined. “How do we get them out?”

“One step at a time,” Lex said. “There’s really nothing we can do until we have more information. We can’t exactly destroy any of the ships until we know which ones we can’t destroy.”

That was true enough, Rodney thought. The problem is that he wanted to be the one to find John, which was ridiculous, because he couldn’t, not unless he wanted to be Wraith food. “Fine,” he snapped, knowing he was being unreasonably mean, considering Lex and Clark had dropped everything to come on this mad rescue mission. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Fine.” There, that sounded better. 

“Don’t be gone too long,” Clark said. “Or I could go with you?”

“How, exactly, will you get on and off the ships?” Lex asked, smiling gently. “You can’t exactly burst through the hull.”

Clark scrunched his nose at Lex. “Don’t take too long,” he said again, “or I will be coming after you.”

“Fair enough,” Lex said. To Rodney he said, “Don’t do anything that will get their attention.”

Rodney frowned at him.

Lex just smirked at him, kissed Clark, and dissolved into sparkles, shooting past them and through the shell of the ship.

Rodney was viciously glad that Clark looked as disgruntled as Rodney felt. And then Clark was panicking. “Wait, wait,” he yelled, as if Lex would be able to hear him. Well, maybe he could, but he didn’t come back. Clark wasn’t done panicking. “What if they see him? What if they capture him?”

“They can’t,” Rodney told him. “No one can capture an ascended being other than another ascended being.”

“Maybe they have one,” Clark insisted. “And how do we know about Lex in particular? He’s from another galaxy. Maybe they can catch him. What happens if he turns back to human? Maybe they have something that can do that.”

“If this is your way of trying to go with him,” Rodney said, “forget it.”

“But--“

“What are you going to do?” Rodney asked. “Knock on the door? You can’t break through the outer hull without possibly hurting any prisoners, John included. They’ll get sucked out and die. And while I hate to admit it, really, really, hate it, I’m not a good enough pilot to get one of the jumpers into a hive ship.”

“I can x-ray the ship and make sure I go into it someplace far away from anyone,” Clark insisted.

“We have no idea how these ships will react if their hulls are breached,” Rodney argued. “You’re not doing anything that could get John killed.” He put up a hand when Clark opened his mouth to keep talking. “No.”

Clark looked mutinous.

Something out of the corner of Rodney’s eyes caught his attention and he started at the screen, seeing that more hive ships were appearing. Not for the first time, Rodney wondered how many hive ships there were. Could this be all of them? He should have told Lex to try to figure that out. Or he should have gone with Lex so he could have figured that out.

“Can you connect to their computer systems from here?” Rodney asked the avatar.

“Yes, but not without alerting them,” the avatar said.

Which meant he could do that after his teammates were safe; he could hack in and try to determine how many hive ships existed. Then again, he had no idea how the ships spoke to each other. Maybe their systems were self-contained. “How do they speak to each other?” he asked out loud.

“The Wraith have their own language,” the avatar began.

“No, no,” Rodney said sharply, waving a hand to stop her. “Assuming the theory we came up with is correct, that one of the Wraith has knowledge of you,” he stopped, pointing at Clark, “then this meeting of all these hive ships is to discuss an invasion of your Earth.”

“Which I will stop,” Clark said firmly, “even if I have to destroy every one of those ships.”

Rodney eyed him a little nervously, seeing Superman in all his powerful glory, never mind he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

“After we rescue everyone,” Clark added, with a small wince, looking eighteen again.

Rodney felt annoyed at how little information they had on the Wraith. “Do you have files on the Wraith?” he asked the avatar. “How they can be killed? How they communicated across space to get more than twenty-five hive ships here?”

“I have limited information on the Wraith,” the avatar said. “Much of it was deleted. But I have been able to recover some of the data.” She pointed at the closest computer. “I have made it accessible to you.”

Rodney sat down at the closest terminal and started scrolling through the information, finding most of it useless, because it was about the experiments they did to create the Wraith, not the state of the Wraith nation now. “Wait, wait,” he said, reading something. “What do you have on the Iratus Bug?” More information began to scroll, and Rodney frowned. 

“What’s an Iratus Bug?” Clark asked, grimacing as he saw pictures of the black insect on the screen. “Gross.”

“They combined this bug and people, I guess, to make the Wraith.”

“Why?” Clark asked, looking queasy.

“Good question,” Rodney asked, typing in more queries. His frustration with the Ancients grew exponentially the more he read. “To make a long and ridiculous story short,” he finally said, “it was to try to figure out a way to become immortal, in case they couldn’t ascend.”

“And they wanted to stay immortal like that?” Clark almost squeaked. “Someone who feeds on humans to survive? Were they insane?”

“Probably,” Rodney said. “The Ancients experimented on humans to develop the Wraith, so they clearly had no compunction to protect mere humans. They were merely a tool for the Ancients to use to achieve their own ends.”

“So,” Clark said slowly and unhappily, “Lex is sort of related to them?”

Rodney shook his head. “No, they were a failed experiment that started to fight back and forced the Ancients out of this galaxy. Lex is…hell, I have no idea what Lex is, but I know he’s not anything like a Wraith.”

Clark sighed and stared out the window. Rodney could just barely see a shining light zip from one ship to the next.

“What happened to my planet?” Clark asked. “I mean in those comic books, the planet I came from.”

Rodney let out a huff, “The most consistent story is that it exploded as a result of a nuclear chain reaction caused by the planet’s unstable radioactive core.”

“And what caused that?” Clark asked.

“It could be its own cautionary tale, too many experiments, using the core of the planet as an energy source. Or it may be that the planet was very old, and it just died as a part of its life-cycle.”

“What do you think happened?”

“I think people are stupid,” Rodney said, “and that they did something stupid because they were advanced and had time on their hands, and thought they could do anything without repercussions. I know in the stories, with the exception of you and Super Girl, that almost anyone who survived the explosion was an asshole with delusions of grandeur.”

“Super Girl?”

“A cousin of yours.” Rodney rolled his eyes and let out a derisive sniff. “There was also a Super Dog named Krypto. Oh, and your Kryptonian name was Kal-El. Your parents were Jor-El and Lara.”

“Do you think any of that is true?” Clark asked anxiously. “Do you think I’m really from that planet? That other people survived?”

“I have no idea,” Rodney said. “Before I met you and Lex, I would have said no, but here you are. I’d have to spend time on your planet and determine which comic stories are true, and which authors have the highest hits of being right, and create an algorithm to determine probabilities.” He frowned. “There are a lot of origin stories, and they all differ a little. And yours and Lex’s friendship and more, the way you are together, is not part of that. So no matter what, you’re not stuck in those stories, or any of those futures.”

“How about Lex? How does he…I mean, even if we’re enemies, does he live a long time?” Clark was still staring out the window, hand pressed against the glass, as if he wished he was out there with Lex.

Rodney had to think for a long moment. “I don’t think he ever really dies, or if he does, he still survives, which I know doesn’t make sense, but in comic books no one important who dies is ever really dead. Every superhero needs a villain, and he was yours. Sometimes he becomes a superhero, or merges himself with some monster genes to become stronger. Sometimes he has kids, sometimes he has a mob of bad guys, but he always seems to survive. I think as long as there is a Superman, there’ll be a Lex Luthor.”

“But enemies,” Clark said sadly.

“People say that the line between love and hate is very thin. Maybe he always loved Superman, but…” Rodney stopped, scoffing. 

Clark didn’t push for what he was going to say, and Rodney was glad, because he had no idea how to finish that sentence. It was too bad he didn’t have one of those graphic novels that he’d read as a teenager, where Lex and Superman were a lot more than friends.

“Why Superman?” Clark asked, looking pained.

“I think Lois Lane named him? That was usually Superman’s girlfriend.”

Clark made a face. “That won’t be my name. It’s stupid.”

“I agree,” Rodney said, “Plus, this time around Lex can be Superman.”

Clark laughed a little, but Rodney could tell his heart wasn’t in it. He was still staring out the window, and Rodney couldn’t see the little white light anywhere.

“Can you sense where Lex is?” Rodney asked the avatar.

“My sensors are not calibrated for ascended beings,” she said.

“He was right here,” Rodney snapped at her. “You’ve got readings, calibrate your damn sensors now.” When he had the time, he was so changing the coding on the avatar. This one was a real disappointment. 

Her face showing no emotion, she stayed silent for close to a minute, before saying, “He is returning.”

“What?” Rodney said, moving to the window to stand next to Clark, and yes, there he was, streaking his way to them. Rodney stared at the hives, waiting for darts to come streaming out of the hives, but there was a suspicious lack of activity. How could they not notice the comet rolling across the sky?

And then came the darts, by the hundred, the thousand, more than that, like bees shooting out a hive. “Get us out of here,” Rodney demanded. “Change our location immediately.”

“But he won’t be able to find us,” Clark yelled, his nose pressed to the glass.

“Better to not find us, than to find us in pieces. He may be indestructible, you, too, but I’m not.”

The ship slipped into hyperdrive and was away from the hive ships so fast, Rodney grabbed a chair to keep standing. “I didn’t mean for you to take us into hyperdrive,” Rodney shouted. “He really won’t be able to find us.” What a clusterfuck. They’d have to go back to look for Lex while a countless number of darts waited for them.

But then there was Lex swooping in like a ball of fire, and he was holding someone, and Rodney stared, stunned, thinking it looked like John. It was John. It couldn’t be John. He had to be imagining things, but then John was staggering towards him, and Rodney snapped out of his stupor and grabbed for him. He pulled John close and hugged him, feeling like he could do anything now, anything with John in his arms, alive and breathing.

Rodney had no idea how much time had gone by when he finally pulled back, hands now on John’s face, staring at his eyes, hands now on his shoulders, looking for injuries, opening buttons to look at his chest, knees weak with relief when it was unmarked. “Jesus,” he gasped out, feeling as if he’d run a marathon. 

John staggered again, and Rodney helped him to a chair and sat him down, handing him his opened bottle of water he’d been drinking from. “Drink this.” Then he turned to Lex, back in his human shape, being smothered in a hug by Clark. 

“They were about to feed on him,” Lex explained, peering around Clark’s shoulder. “So I took him. Sorry I got them all hot and bothered, but I couldn’t just leave him there.”

“No apologies necessary,” Rodney said faintly.

“I looked for Teyla, but I hadn’t found her by the time I found John.”

Rodney’s heart ached a little at that, and hoped like hell it didn’t mean Teyla was next, or already dead. “Did you see anyone else?”

“I saw a lot of people, but most of them were in this web stuff, or in prison cells. I saw a lot of Wraith, although most of them were in meetings, angry meetings. There was a lot of yelling going on, mostly between these tall women with bad teeth.”

“Queens,” John said, setting down an empty bottle. Rodney went to his backpack and found him another one, along with a power bar. John took them with a strained smile. “Not that I could understand much, they were screeching at each other in their own language, but I could tell they were fighting over something.”

“Yeah,” Clark said darkly, “my Earth.”

“Why angry, though?” Lex asked. “It’s not as if there’s not plenty of people there to feed all the Wraith.”

“Lex!” Clark snapped, as if Lex had offered the planet to the enemy.

“We’re going to stop them,” Lex said, pulling Clark close. “I just don’t understand what they would be arguing about.”

“Why do you think they’re going after your planet?” John asked.

“It’s a working theory,” Rodney said. “We watched them…” he stopped, gulping. “John…”

“Just tell me, Rodney,” John said grimly. “It can’t be worse than the entire city falling to the Wraith. I know people died.”

“One of the Wraith killed Ford,” Rodney finally said, his throat tight. “Show him the video,” he finally told the avatar. “Oh, and this is the city’s avatar,” he said, gesturing towards her.

John’s eyebrows rose high, and he looked around him. “Where’d this ship come from?”

Rodney just pointed to the screen that had risen behind the computer consoles, and he watched, again, Ford’s death. “We think they saw what happened when that Wraith fed on Clark. They think there’s a smorgasbord of super-powered meals waiting for them. We think they’re meeting to figure out where it is, and how to get there.”

John rubbed his eyes when the video was over, and everyone gave him a minute to pull himself together.

And yeah, everything sucked, Rodney thought, but he had John back, and they’d figure out a way to make it better.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally done!!! Oy, sorry it took so long.

John looked tired and drawn, but he looked at Clark and Lex. “Hi?”

Clark smiled tightly and gave him a little wave. Lex just watched him before looking at Rodney, “You want me to go back? You still have people there.”

“How did you get me in the first place?” John asked, bringing Lex’s attention back to him. “Last time I checked you were human.”

Fair question. Rodney opened his mouth and then shut it again. 

“I did something stupid,” Lex confessed, “and when I got here I was…” he gestured at himself.

“He sort of became an Ancient,” Rodney said. 

John looked like he wanted to ask a million more questions, and Rodney didn’t blame him, but he chewed on his bottom lip instead. “You went and got them?” he asked Rodney.

Rodney nodded. 

“I thought you were dead,” John said to Rodney, eyes bleak. “When the satellite blew up, I thought you were dead.”

“Me, too,” Rodney said. “I mean I thought you were dead. Well, me, too, but mostly you.”

“So let’s not do that again,” John said. To Lex, he said, “Will you go back? If they picked up any memories from Ford, they’ll look for Teyla next.” He stood, strode a few steps. “Damn it. Can you take me with you?”

“No!” Rodney yelled. “I just got you back!”

“I know,” John said, in his usual placating manner that made Rodney want to strangle him, “but I can’t just leave them all there.”

“Were you originally taken to that ship I found you on?” Lex asked. “Or were you moved?”

“Damn it,” John said again. “I have no idea. I was out of it, knocked out, I think.” His hand went under his shirt to feel his chest, as if not sure if he’d even been fed on. He glanced around at the ship, the avatar, Clark and Lex, and finally at Rodney. “What…am I dreaming this?” John was looking more confused by the second.

Rodney’s anxiety grew in exponential proportion to John’s confusion. John needed to come up with a plan. Rodney’s job was science plans, but John’s job was rescue plans, unless it was Rodney’s job, which it had been, but he got his job done! John was here, and now it was John’s turn! 

“I got to Atlantis and everyone was gone, except the few people the Wraith fed on,” Rodney began, talking fast. “I needed help.” He waved his hand frantically at Clark and Lex. “We got back to Atlantis, Lex went all glowy, jumped into the consoles and she came out,” Rodney now waved a hand at the avatar. “She’s speaks for Atlantis. Not particularly well, but there you are.”

“Hello,” John said warily to the avatar.

“I am the Atlantis avatar,” she said to him.

“She says that a lot,” Rodney complained. “But, to be fair, she showed us this ship which is loaded with ZedPMs by the way, and the ship got us here, so…” Rodney wasn’t sure how to finish that. Now that he had John, it was time for John to get with the program and to start getting angry, because Rodney needed John pissed off, because then he’d yell at Rodney, and Rodney would be brilliant. More brilliant. “We need a plan.”

He watched as John pinched himself.

“Rodney,” Lex said. “Maybe you should take a minute. The two of you.”

Rodney gaped at him, hand flailing at the front view screen, silently reminding Lex that there were people who needed rescuing. Now that Rodney had John, it was glaringly obvious that there were essential people missing. Like Teyla. Like Elizabeth. Like Zelenka. Like…like everyone else.

“Rodney,” Lex said again, his jaw pointing gently at John. “Maybe he needs to drink some more water, and eat something besides a power bar. I’ll come up with a plan. That’s why you got me, right?”

Right. Rodney clearly wasn’t used to having an evil mastermind at his beck and call. “Right.” He looked at John, who suddenly mostly looked exhausted and sad and Rodney needed to fix that. “Come on,” he said, grabbing John’s wrist. “Come with me.”

John stumbled after him, and then they were out the door heading for the kitchen area.

*****

“Is he going to be okay?” Clark asked, watching as they walked out of sight.

“Yes,” Lex said, feeling an urge to protect John. “I wouldn’t be in much better shape if I thought you’d been dead.” Not to mention an unfamiliar space ship, an unknown woman, and the appearance of two people John didn’t expect to see in his universe.

“Do you have a plan?”

“I might have a plan,” Lex said, moving toward his bag he’d had his laptop in, pulling out the piece of tech from the Wraith Dart. “Do you know what this is?” he asked the avatar. 

“It appears to be the culling device from an interceptor craft piloted by the beings known as the Wraith,” the avatar said.

Lex hoped she meant a dart, as that had been what John had called it. “Do you have a picture of an interceptor craft?” Lex asked.

On the monitor appeared a picture of the dart that had landed on Lex’s Earth. “Here is a picture of an interceptor craft,” she said.

“Let’s call the craft a Wraith dart from now on,” Lex told her, wanting to avoid confusion when John and Rodney got back. “Is this device able to work without a dart?”

“There is insufficient data to reply,” she said.

“You guys never took one of these ships apart?” Lex asked, surprised.

She stood there for a moment, and then the monitors started displaying information. Lex and Clark moved to one of the computers, and Lex sat down and began to search.

*****

Rodney leaned against a counter and pulled John into a hug. Hugs worked for him when he was out of his mind, so he hoped it would work for John. 

“I’m sorry,” John said into his neck. 

“For what?” 

“My brain feels so stupid.”

Rodney came up with a new plan, shifted John until he was resting against the counter, and moved to the jury-rigged coffee pot to pour John a cup of coffee. Coffee always helped Rodney on those rare, very rare, times when his brain was feeling slow.

John grabbed at it like a life-line and took a long swallow, then another. “Okay,” he said, pulling in a long breath and huffing it out. “Tell me again.”

Rodney ran through the list of events leading up to John’s cup of coffee. John quietly listened, made his way through one cup of coffee, and poured himself another. When Rodney was done, John shot him a fond smile. “You’re amazing.”

Rodney knew that but it still, infuriatingly, made him blush when John said it.

“So we have a ship,” John said, looking around, “a serous ship. ZPMs, great weapons, two invulnerable people, your brain, and me.”

That was a pretty impressive list of things, Rodney thought to himself. “So all we need is a plan, and we can totally do this.”

“Yes, we can,” John said with a grin that made him look so much like himself, it made Rodney feel lightheaded with relief. 

“And Lex is already working on one,” Rodney pointed out.

“Let’s go see what he’s come up with,” John said, and they both headed back to the bridge.

*****

John was finally starting to feel like a human again, the nightmare he’d been in until just a little while ago feeling insubstantial like a bad dream upon awaking. When they got to the bridge, John said, “What’s the plan?”

Lex grinned at him, “We cull everyone out of the ship who’s not a Wraith, and then we destroy all the hives.”

“I like this plan,” John said. He really liked the plan. They’d rescue everyone, and then cripple the Wraith with the destruction of this many hives and queens.

Lex held out a box. “I took that dart apart and, after process of elimination, I think this is the culling device.” He frowned at it. “Weird to think it might be full of people.” He shook himself, then said, “I was trying to figure out if it could be used in the jumper, rather than having to go get a dart.” He pointed at the screen. “I found some data about the darts in the database, but I don’t understand all of it.”

Rodney could help with that. He moved to Lex’s side, sort of shoving Clark away, and getting into a tech speak conversation with Lex that John knew better than to try to follow. He shot Clark a grin at his disgruntled look at having been shunted aside. “He does that to everyone,” John assured him. “Don’t take it personally.”

“Are you okay?” Clark asked him. 

“I’m getting there,” John said. “It’ll be better when we get everyone else back. Thanks for helping.”

“Sure,” Clark said. “Can’t say we expected Rodney to just show up at Lex’s house. If he’d shown up five minutes earlier, he would have met my mom and dad.”

“How’d that have gone?” John asked, keeping an eye on the two mad scientists.

“My dad probably would have gotten his shotgun out of the truck,” Clark said with a rueful grin. “He already hates Lex; I think Rodney would have pushed him over the edge.”

“Parents are tricky,” John agreed. “My dad and I fought all the time. If I saw him again, we’d probably still be fighting. And he would not approve of Rodney at all. Too brash and way too male.”

Clark looked like it was a relief to share that particular burden with John. 

To Rodney, John said,” Happy to go steal a dart if I need to.”

“Of course you are,” Rodney said scathingly. “Can we keep the heroics to a minimum, please?”

John snorted. “Pot, kettle.” He decided he wanted more coffee, and dragged Clark off with him so he could bring coffee back for everyone. Maybe the kitchen would have a turkey sandwich or two. 

*****

Just when Rodney looked around to see they’d been abandoned, John and Clark arrived bearing food and drinks. He fell on the tray like a starving man, which he was. “Hopefully this ship has a lab area,” he said through a mouth full of food, ignoring John’s eye roll. Rodney snapped his fingers at the avatar who had been standing around like a store mannequin. “Is there a work lab on this ship? One with computers and tools?”

“Yes,” she said.

He waited for more, and when nothing else was forthcoming, gave an eye roll of his own. “I am so reprogramming her when we get back to Atlantis.” He grabbed another MRE and ripped it open. “How about you take us there?” he asked.

As a group, they all followed the avatar to a large lab that had Rodney rubbing his hands together in glee.

“What are you guys making?” John asked, “and how long will it take?” Now that they were working on a plan, he wanted it done yesterday. Teyla and everyone else from Atlantis was in real danger of being fed on for information.

“Two hours,” Rodney said, even as Lex said, “Eight hours.”

Rodney scoffed at him, as Lex gaped at Rodney.

“Rodney lives his life at fast-forward,” John told Lex. “And if he says he can do it in two hours, he can.”

Rodney shot him and Lex a smug smile. “I think we can hook this up to the jumper if we have a ZedPM to power it. What we don’t know is if it will work through the hull, or if we have to be inside the ship. We also don’t know how to differentiate between people and Wraith.”

“Clark could get on each ship, grab the people, put them somewhere we can cull, and then get out,” John suggested.

“Assuming we are on the jumper in the ship so Clark could search,” Lex said. “Which might work once or twice, but they’ll be alerted and might start to leave, assuming they don’t somehow manage to destroy the jumper.”

“We need to try to cull one of us from outside the ship and see what happens,” Rodney said.

“Bad idea,” John said. “We need all of us for this plan, whatever plan, to work. The beam could dematerialize whoever it’s got when it hits the steel.”

“Then we need to go to one of the ships and cull something, and see what happens,” Rodney countered in frustration. “It won’t be a workable plan unless we know we can do this.”

John could work with that. “We just need to be prepared to kill a Wraith in case that’s what we cull.”

“I can do that,” Clark said with a wince.

“No,” Lex said, moving close to Clark. “I don’t like that idea. I’d just as soon you not do any face-to-face killing.”

“I’m eighteen, Lex,” Clark said, exasperated.

“Exactly. And you are not a killer, not like that. You’ve got a heart of gold, and I’d like to not do anything to change that unless absolutely essential.”

John tried to remember being eighteen, the thought of killing someone not even on his radar. Even after going into the Air Force, killing hadn’t happened for a while, and there was no doubt that it changed a man.

“You’re not much older than me,” Clark said to Lex, even as he pulled Lex in closer.

“I know, but I’m different than you,” Lex said. “I have it in me to be a killer.”

“That doesn’t mean you should do it,” Clark said, aghast. “It might change you, too!”

There was no way this argument was going to get resolved, so John interrupted and said, “We need to pick a plan and get moving. The rest of the Atlantis team will be in trouble soon, if they’re not already.”

“Right,” Lex said, kissing Clark on the cheek. “Don’t worry Clark, if I can, I can take them outside the ship and let them go, and let space kill them.”

“Maybe we can do that for all the queens,” Rodney suggested. “If they can’t reproduce, they’ll eventually die out.”

John loved that idea. “We need to find out if all the queens are on those ships. I wasn’t with them long, but there was at least a dozen.”

“Even if that’s not all of them, it’s enough to do some serious damage. We need to know how the Wraith produce queens. Anyone know?” Lex asked.

Rodney looked at the avatar, snorted contemptuously, and moved to the computer console, fingers flying over the keyboards. A few minutes later, he sat back, frowning, “I don’t see anything about reproduction. The iratus bug, well, we saw how they reproduce, laying eggs that hang from the ceiling until they hatch.”

“There were cells, like a bee hive on that first ship where I rescued Teyla,” John said, leaving out the part where he’d had to kill Sumner. “Maybe the Wraith do the same thing. Lay eggs that incubate in a hive cell. Or maybe they were hibernating there, because she said they’d wake up with her death, and they started moving right after that.” It was a memory that featured in a large number of nightmares.

“So we could be waking up every sleeping Wraith if we kill the queens,” Clark said. “That would be bad, right?”

“If we do this right, it won’t matter. We just need to get our people back, and any other people we can rescue along the way,” John said. “Let’s get the jumper rigged up, get the ship back to where the hives were. We’ll go in cloaked to cull something to see what happens.”

“Okay,” Rodney said, looking relieved to have some sort of plan. He started gathering things, attached a few leads and crystals to the box Lex was holding, and then they trooped to where the jumper was.

*****

Five minutes shy of two hours later, they were ready to go, Lex staring at Rodney like he hung the moon. John would be jealous, except he knew he didn’t need to be, and he looked at Rodney like that on a regular basis.

“I think we should bring the jumper back to the ship to download them in a vacuum pod, so if they’re Wraith, we can just open the door and whoosh, out they’d go,” Rodney said, his hands miming the action, looking more like an explosion than a whoosh.

“Good idea,” John said. “Show me where.” He looked at the avatar and asked that she show the outside of the ship on the monitor. A second later it was there, and John took a moment to admire her. 

“There,” Rodney said, pointing at a doorway with a number five on it. “Actually any of these, including the one we’ll use to go out. We get in, get though the outer and inner hatch, put air in the room, just in case it’s people, and download them into the room.”

“Sounds like a plan,” John said, having no doubt that Rodney would be able to do just that.

“I can be in the room, just in case,” Lex said.

Clark scowled and said, “Me, too. I can be in space, too.”

Lex smiled at him. “That would be great. If it’s two Wraith, I could use the help.”

Clark grinned back.

*****

Rodney’s biggest concern was that once they got back to where the hives had been, they wouldn’t be there anymore. But not only were they there, there were more, a lot more. He counted at least forty before checking the computer. Forty-eight. The thought of forty-eight hive ships made him nauseated. “What are they doing?” he asked. “Why are there so many of them?” The darts were once again in the ships, just a few out patrolling.

“Gathering information,” John said grimly. “The queens must be the ones who want to get the information so they can be in control of it. We have to hurry.”

“We’re good to go,” Rodney said.

“You’re staying here,” John said, putting a hand up to stop any complaints. “You’re all staying here.”

“Oh, right, here we go, off to be the hero,” Rodney snapped, furious that John was about to ride off to danger without him.

“We can’t leave the ship unattended,” John said.

“You need someone there who can operate the culling device,” Lex said. “I’ll go. I can’t be hurt.”

“I can go,” Rodney said. “I was the one who set it up.”

“You can be hurt,” John pointed out.

“So can you. Maybe Lex and Clark should go,” Rodney said angrily, and then thought about it some more. “That’s actually a really good idea. Lex is great at flying the jumpers, and neither of them can get hurt.”

John opened his mouth to argue, but then shut it. He glanced at Lex and Clark and shook his head. “It’s not their responsibility.”

“Teyla is our friend, too,” Clark pointed out. “Why should either of you risk your life for something so simple? We’re just going over there, trying the culling ray, and coming back, right?”

“Right,” John said slowly. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” Lex said. “We can do this.”

John looked like he wanted to argue some more, but Rodney knew John was well aware that every second lost was potentially someone dead.

“Ok,” John said. He handed them both a head set. “Keep in touch.”

Lex put his head set on, then helped Clark get his working. “We will.” Without further ado he and Clark got into the jumper, the jumper lighting up for him as brightly as it did for John.

The inner hatch opened and Lex, as if he’d been piloting a jumper for years, maneuvered into the smaller room and, once the inner hatch was shut, opened the outer hatch and was away.

John and Rodney stared out at the ships, wondering which one Lex would land on. “Did you notice that one is much bigger than the others,” Rodney said. “Do you think it’s a royal convoy of sorts?”

“I just want to get our people safe and then we can destroy them all,” was John’s opinion. John looked anxious, and Rodney stepped closer until they were touching all along their sides. John sighed, and pressed even closer. “What if they’re all already dead?”

“They won’t be,” Rodney said, appalled at how optimistic he was being. “But if they are, we can take this ship home to Earth. Or we can go live on Comic Book World. Superman could probably use a couple of good advisors.”

John snorted at that. They kept waiting for darts to come zooming out of the ships in response to whatever Lex was doing, but other than the few darts on patrol, there wasn’t much happening. 

“What I don’t understand is why they’re all still here,” Rodney said. “Why didn’t they leave when Lex took you? They had to know something was wrong. With all the queens here, you’d think they’d play it safe and leave.”

“They’re incredibly arrogant, and they think they’re indestructible,” John answered. “I don’t think it would even cross their mind to run.” He leaned into Rodney, wanting the support. “And, I think I was alone with the queen. Maybe she didn’t want to admit she lost me. And if there were male Wraith in the room, maybe she blamed them.” 

Rodney didn’t like it, but he knew they had too few facts to pull together a working hypothesis. On the other hand, Wraith arrogance was all too true. 

Lex suddenly appeared in the jumper bay with Teyla and a shitload of Wraith queens. They were all gasping for breath, wild eyed, the queens thrashing out, doing more harm to their fellow queens than to Lex. John was attempting to count queens while trying to figure out how to get Teyla free, when Lex let go of Teyla and zoomed the queens into one of the hatches. 

John had counted to twelve when Lex hit the control to open the outer hatch, smirking as all but one of the queens blew out into space. He brought the one remaining queen back into the bay and she let out a scream, fury causing a rictus of her already frightening facial features. With a wave of his hand, she was bound and gagged.

“Jesus,” John said, doing a little reeling of his own. Twelve queens!

Rodney grabbed Teyla to see if she was all right, her breathing labored, gasping as if breathless.

“Why the fuck did you bring the queen in here?” John demanded, a little breathless himself. “And where’s my jumper? And Clark,” he added as an afterthought, feeling sort of bad he’d left him last on his list.

“Clark is still on the jumper, on one of the Wraith ships. I’ll go get him and the jumper,” he said, giving John a look, making sure John heard the proper order, “once we’re done here.”

“And what, exactly, does done look like to you?” Rodney demanded before putting his attention back on Teyla. “Are you okay?” he asked her, as she continued to gasp for breath. “Avatar! Where the hell are you?”

The avatar appeared and Rodney demanded she take them to the sick bay. Rodney scooped Teyla up in his arms, ignoring her wheezed complaints, and followed the avatar, demanding information for decompression sickness.

“You took a chance with her,” John said unhappily. “And why didn’t that happen to me?”

“I took a chance to help you win this war,” Lex said firmly. To his credit, he did look a little worried. “Teyla will be fine; we were only out there for a second. I’m sure this ship has an excellent infirmary and Rodney will make sure she’s fine. And I was only carrying you the last time and you weren’t struggling, so I was better able to protect you.”

John couldn’t deny that Rodney would be all over making sure Teyla was okay. Rodney would probably design something to fix her if it didn’t already exist. He peered out the window and had to admit to a large burst of satisfaction seeing dead queens, or parts of exploded dead queens floating in space. “What’s the plan?”

An odd voice answered, “I go back over like this.”

John spun around and only saw the queen; Lex was nowhere to be seen. “Where the hell did you go?” he yelled, not happy about being left alone with a queen, especially one suddenly not bound and gagged. He went to grab his gun but realized he wasn’t armed. He’d have to fix that right away, assuming he lived through the next few minutes.

“I’m in her,” Lex said, stepping outside the boundaries of her body in a glow, which then disappeared. “I can go back, demand all the remaining queens get brought to me, to her, as she is the highest ranking queen. Then we kill them all.”

“Is she fighting back?” John asked, intrigued, and a little grossed out.

“She’s trying,” Lex said with a macabre grin on the queen’s face.

John glanced outside the view screen again, waiting for an eruption of darts, but everything was quiet. “Do they know the queens are gone?”

“Not yet,” Lex said. “They were sequestered, not wanting any of the soldiers to have the information as to where our Earth is located. We can’t take too long though; at some point someone will notice.”

There was a sound, and John saw Clark out the window of the outer hatch door, knocking. He let out a laugh and let him in, opening and closing each hatch in turn. “You could just open the hatch from outside,” he told Clark.

Clark coughed a little once he was in, nodding at John’s comment, but then he frowned. “Where’s Lex?”

John gestured at the queen. “You’re looking at him.”

Clark stepped back so quickly he almost stumbled. “What?” he yelped. Clearly, while he might have accepted the glowing, looking like a Wraith queen was a step too far.

“I’m temporarily taking over her body, so I can go back on the hive ship,” Lex explained. “Hopefully, they’ll think I’m really her.”

“Is that really you?” Clark asked, moving closer, peering at the queen. “That’s really weird.”

“Can you speak her language?” John asked. He heard walking and turned to see Rodney joining them. “Where’s Teyla?”

“In a hyperbaric chamber, or the Atlantean’s version of one. She’ll be fine.” He glared at Lex, “No thanks to you.”

“Excuse me,” Lex said with all the hauteur of a Wraith queen, “She was about to start being tortured. I think the fact that she’s here at all without being Wraith food is entirely thanks to me.”

Rodney scoffed, but didn’t argue.

Now that John knew Teyla would be fine, John felt a thousand times better. “Thanks, Lex. Really. Thanks for saving her.” He had a sudden flare of sadness that there would be no last minute save for Ford, that their team of four was now only a team of three. He knew, though, that if he’d had to make that awful choice, he was glad it was Teyla who was alive.

“Can you speak her language?” Rodney asked, following up on John’s question.

Lex let loose with a barrage of ear-splitting hisses.

“Okay, okay, stop!” John said with a slashing movement of his hands. “I guess the answer is yes.”

“Were you able to cull anyone before you came up with this plan?” Rodney asked.

“No,” Lex said, “but I did make some readings that might help us discriminate between Wraith and human.”

“Let me see them,” Rodney said, snapping his fingers with his own sort of imperiousness.

“Um,” Lex said, which was really weird out of a queen’s mouth, “they’re on the puddle jumper.”

“Take me and Rodney to the puddle jumper,” John said. Lex looked like he was going to say something, but John cut him off. “We’ll figure out how to go with you without us getting sick. You just need to figure out how to get most of the Wraith on that biggest ship. That one wasn’t at Atlantis…damn. There’s just no way to know where our people are.”

“If we can really tell who the Wraith are versus humans, we need two culling devices. One for each. The Wraith get dumped into space, and the humans get brought here,” Clark said.

“How do I show up on this?” Lex asked, handing a life signs detector to Rodney. 

“The Wraith have never shown up as anything different,” Rodney said, even as he started scrolling through Lex’s new data. “Huh.”

“What?” John asked.

“Busy,” Rodney said.

John rolled his eyes but grinned. That was a good sign, as much as John hated it.

Rodney held the scanner up and slowly scanned each of them. “With this new data, there is a difference.”

“Yeah,” John said, “but enough of a difference to not make mistakes? Not to mention that humans and Wraith may be in the same room?”

Shaking his head, Rodney said, “There’s no way to be sure without trying it.”

“Do you have enough power as an Ancient to run the culling device without a ship?” John asked Lex. “If so, you could race through the ships, culling people, and Clark could clean up behind you.”

Lex shook his head, “I don’t want Clark killing anyone, let alone thousands, and I know that was the original plan, but I’d rather avoid it if we could. I could take Clark with me, and he could protect the culling device, and then you could shoot the ships once we’re clear.”

“And we’ll know that how?” Rodney asked dubiously.

“We’ll come up with a way to communicate that,” Lex said.

“Assuming you can use the culling device,” John said.

“And assuming you can do this fast enough to get to all the ships before they start leaving through hyperspace windows,” Rodney added.

“So no pressure,” Lex said.

John ran a hand through his hair, knowing he was leaving it messier than usual. “Maybe you should just cull everyone, we’ll blow up the ships, and then figure out how to deal with the Wraith when we download everyone.”

“What we need is an Asgard beam, or something like that,” Rodney said. Then he looked around for the avatar, not finding her. “Avatar!” he yelled again.

She appeared.

“Do we have any beaming technology on this ship?” Rodney asked her, as he sat down in front of a monitor and started searching.

“The Wraith stole the culling technology from us,” the avatar said.

That stopped everyone. “What?” Rodney said. “Really. What?”

A design slowly circled on the monitor in front of Rodney. “They stole an earlier prototype. This is the latest design.”

“Why did they cut and run?” John asked. “If they had culling technology, why didn’t they cull the Wraith? They had to know what they were unleashing on this galaxy when they left for Earth.”

“The more I hear about these people, the more I hate them,” Clark muttered.

“Amen,” Lex said.

Rodney was quickly flicking through all the diagrams and specs. “Okay, if I’m reading this right, we have…those bastards,” Rodney interrupted himself angrily. “There is no way they couldn’t have just culled for Wraith.”

“They were not interested in using the system as a weapon,” the avatar said.

“That’s bullshit!” Rodney said. “They created a weapon in the Wraith.”

“That was an accident,” she said.

“How about the satellite platform? That was a weapon,” John asked.

“That was for defense,” the avatar said by rote, as if designed to offer absolution for the never-ending sins of the Ancients.

“Never mind,” John said. “They’re all dead or ascended, and I don’t care. Can this beam differentiate between Wraith and humans, or people?”

“Yes,” Rodney said, with a glare at the avatar. “So they left the galaxy, but first they mothballed the only weapon that could have saved the people here. We’ll have to fly over them, but we can be cloaked, pluck everything not Wraith out of the ships and then blow them up.”

“Go get the jumper,” John told Lex. “I don’t want it to die along with the hive ships. And you can drop her off on your way, somewhere in between. We won’t need her.” He smiled at the queen. “Sorry.”

“We’ll end up with some Wraith worshippers, but there won’t many Wraith around to worship,” Rodney said.

“Maybe we should use the queen to see if we can get more hives here,” Lex suggested. 

“Ordinarily I’d jump at the idea of killing more Wraith, but every second we wait, they could be feeding on people,” John said. “I say we kill these fuckers, and go home. We’ll have ZPMs, a great ship, a grateful galaxy if we bring some of their people home--which will be a nice change--and a perfect weapon to destroy any other Wraith that come at us.” A slow smile grew on his face as he moved to Rodney. “We’ll have the upper hand for once.”

Rodney smiled back. “I’m liking this plan. A lot.”

“Then I’ll go get the jumper,” Lex said, and he was gone just like that. 

Rodney moved to the window to watch the Wraith queen screaming before she blew up. “Gross but awesome.”

It seemed only seconds before Lex was back with the jumper, and John moved the ship toward the hives, staying cloaked, and making sure not to run into any of the darts on guard duty. They had to do this fast in hopes of getting done and out before all the darts came racing out. He could do a few runs over the darts and cull them straight out of the ships, if he had to, but hopefully dozens of Wraith ships blowing up at one time would take most of the Wraith darts out with them.

Rodney was still playing with the settings, making John be his subject to tighten up his readings. John guessed he was the best guinea pig as Clark and Lex could throw the readings off, so he stood there while Rodney focused the data. Rodney did take a reading on Clark and Lex and scowled. “I hope the other races in the galaxy read more like us than like the Wraith.” 

John got that. Not everyone might read like a human. “Do you have a reading on Teyla? That way we’d at least get any Athosians.”

“Good point,” Rodney said, saying, “and yes, in fact, I have the Genii as well. And the Hoffans and the Manarians, actually all the races we’ve met so far.” He made several more adjustments. “That will have to do.”

“I wonder how many people our device can hold,” John started, but then he frowned, “actually, what is our device on this ship? Will they go into a device, or just be jumped on this ship? We’re not equipped for a thousand people to suddenly be on the bridge.”

“Another good question,” Rodney said with an answering frown, his fingers flying over the monitors. “Hmm, if I’m reading this right, we have overall space for ten thousand people, divided into containers that will hold a thousand each. But I’m not sure if they automatically switch from one container to the next or not.”

“Let’s do one ship and see what happens,” John said pragmatically. They didn’t have time to figure everything out, and his gut was saying it was a workable plan. “Go, do this ship.”

Rodney released the beam and it swept the ship in about ten seconds. “That’s a wrap, and we’ve got about 300 people.”

“Perfect,” John said, when Rodney gave him the all clear. “I’ll get weapons primed while you go through all the ships. Lex, get ready, in case we have to go after darts.”

Rodney nodded, clearly focused, as he moved onto the next ship.

“And me,” Clark said sounding exasperated. “I appreciate everyone’s efforts to keep blood from getting on my hands, but I’m really clear about the fact that these are bad guys with no hope for rehabilitation.”

Lex smiled ruefully at him. “I overdid it, huh?”

“Just a bit,” Clark said sarcastically. “If we can set it up so I can have a bay to retreat to so I can take a breath every now and then, that would be great.”

“We’ll be cloaked,” John warned him. “In fact, how did you find us before?”

Clark gestured at his eyes. “I can see through cloaks, I guess.”

“I think Bay 5 will work,” John said, looking at schematics and camera views. “There’s not much stuff in there, so if you accidentally let all the air out, we won’t lose much. I’ll keep an eye on it, so I can fill it with air once the door is closed, but don’t cut it too close, just in case.”

“I don’t plan on opening any of the inner hatch doors,” Clark said, “but thanks.”

“There’s oxygen tanks and masks in all the bays,” Rodney muttered. 

“And there you go,” John said to Clark.

They were on the tenth ship when the darts started coming out by the hundreds. “Shit,” Rodney said, although he moved onto the next ship.

“Come on,” Clark said, holding out his hand to Lex. “Take me with you this time.”

Lex did as he was told, took Clark’s hand, turned all glowy and streaked out of the room.

John appreciated Lex’s strategy, as he kept their focus on him, clearly thinking from his glow that he was a fired weapon, and used his trajectory to fire on what they assumed was the source. Seeing as their ship was on top of the Wraith ships, Lex was able to get them firing in every direction but there. Meanwhile, Clark was punching through the darts faster than they could evade.

John kept his eye on Bay 5, watching as Clark occasionally helped himself to the bay, gulping down breaths through the mask attached to the oxygen source, then bolt back outside. 

The last ship, the royal convoy, started moving. “Rodney,” John warned.

“I’m on it,” Rodney said, culling the current ship quickly, as John skipped over several ships to pilot to the large hive. Rodney culled that one, disengaging just in time for Clark to punch through the ship, coming out the other side, and then repeating the maneuver at different spots. 

Despite the holes, the ship still managed to engage hyperdrive, trying to leave, just to explode as it reached the wormhole. “That’s not good,” Rodney said, anxiously. “That could cause a temporary black hole. We need to get out of here.”

John flew back to the other ships as Rodney culled them as fast as he could. He could see the wormhole spreading in response to the explosion. “Yeah, really not good.” John started to pull away. 

“We still need to blow the ships up,” Rodney said.

“We don’t have time,” John said. At least they’d gotten their people back, he thought, although it riled him to leave so many Wraith alive.

But then Clark was punching through all the ships, Lex right behind him, scattering debris everywhere as the hulls were breached, and anything near the breaches was sucked out. Then Lex and Clark were on the bridge, and Rodney was activating their own hyperdrive, yelling, “Avatar, launch a camera now if we’ve got one!” and they were gone.

The monitor came alive, showing the Wraith ships they’d abandoned.

“Oh, good,” Rodney said. “She got one launched. Now we can see what happens next.”

It was pretty spectacular. John took a seat, grinning, as the hyperdrive window spread out to engulf each ship, causing it to explode. Whether it was just the enlarging window, or that the ships were already compromised, John didn’t know, and he really didn’t care. One after another blew up, taking the darts with them. There were still two ships left, still spewing detritus, including dead bodies, when the camera went out.

“That was a good show,” John said with great satisfaction. “How many Wraith do you think we just killed?”

Rodney’s fingers flew over the console. “The first ship we left a little over four thousand bodies behind, so assuming that was all Wraith, that means we probably killed close to two hundred thousand Wraith, more or less.” He beamed at John. 

John beamed back, and then shot Lex and Clark his infectious grin. “That’s a lot of Wraith.”

“How many people did we cull?” Clark asked.

Rodney pushed a few buttons and grimaced.

“What?” John asked, nervous.

“Over nine thousand. We almost ran out of room. Fortunately the device switched containers on its own.”

John goggled at Rodney. “Almost ten thousand people? What the hell are we supposed to do with ten thousand people?”

“Don’t ask me,” Rodney said.

“One device at a time,” Lex said. “It would be better if you could do less than that, because some of them might be sick.”

“Great,” John said. “We need to try to find Beckett fast. We’ll need at least one doctor.” Looking at Rodney, he asked, “Can you find the humans?”

“Maybe,” Rodney said doubtfully. “All the people we culled are very different from Wraith, but not that different from each other.” His fingers flew over the console. “Okay, I think I can do this. No guarantees, but the fourth container has the right number of what I think are humans to more or less match the number of people we had on Atlantis.”

“Do we go back to Atlantis first?” John asked.

“I wouldn’t,” Lex said. “You don’t know for sure who you’ve picked up. I’d choose someplace neutral.”

“Wait, wait!” Rodney said, snapping his fingers. “If I get this right, Elizabeth should be in the first group, so she can make those decisions!”

John grinned at him. “I like the way you think.” He’d be much happier if Elizabeth could make any calls about the people they’d rescued.

“Avatar,” Rodney called.

The Avatar appeared, waiting for orders.

“Is there a large space near the infirmary we can use to download some of the people we culled?”

“There is not a room that large adjacent to the infirmary. There is a room large enough one floor up; it was designated ‘common room’ on the schematics.”

Rodney sat down and pulled up the schematics and pointed to the large area. “What’s in there now? Never mind. Lex and Clark, can you go check it out? I’ll go to the infirmary and see how many people the area can hold.”

“I’ll go figure out the fastest way to get from the common room to the infirmary,” John offered, and they all scattered. 

Two hours later, after Lex and Clark had cleared out the tables from the room, pushing the chairs to rim the space, Rodney pushed the appropriate buttons and a ray shot out leaving behind a large group of people, most of whom he recognized.

Clark and Lex began ushering people to chairs, as a couple had already crumpled to the ground, and John wound his way through the crowd until he found Elizabeth and Beckett.

“John!” she said, leaning on John as he put his arm around her shoulder. “Thank God!”

Beckett was leaning into Rodney, looking tired, but none the worse for wear. As tired as he was, though, he glanced around, asking, “Where are we? Is there a sickbay?”

“Yes, there is,” Rodney said. 

Elizabeth frowned and asked the same question, “Where are we?”

It didn’t take long after that to get the sickest people to the infirmary, all carried there by Clark at the speed of light, and for Beckett to take charge. Several of the staff in best shape were conscripted to help him and, after that, Elizabeth sat down with John and Rodney, along with the Avatar, bottles of water and snacks on the table. 

They’d barely begun when Clark joined them with a cautious smile.

“Clark,” Rodney said, ushering him in. “Elizabeth, meet Clark Kent. He and Lex came and helped us get you all back. As much as it pains me to admit it, I would not have been able to do it without his and Lex Luthor’s help.”

Clark grinned, blushing.

“Where’s Lex?” John asked.

“He’s helping Dr. Beckett, making sure all the equipment is up and running,” Clark explained, sitting down at the table.

“I can see this will be a very interesting debriefing,” Elizabeth said with a smile. “Thank you for your help. I was very afraid we would all die, and Earth would be next.”

Teyla chose that moment to join them, and Rodney shot up to make sure she got to the table as she was still looking a bit unsteady. “Allow me to add my thanks to yours, Elizabeth,” she said.

“They weren’t actually looking for our Earth; they were actually trying to find Comic Book World,” Rodney said.

John began to finally relax with his primary team in place, and the rescue now behind them. “And wait until you hear what we did!” he said proudly, looking at Rodney. “I think we eliminated the Wraith, or at least most of them.”

If Teyla hadn’t been sitting down, she would have ended up on the floor. “How is this possible?”

“Long story,” John said, “and we’ll tell you all of it, but essentially we took out at least…” he hesitated. “How many ships did we end up destroying?” he asked Rodney.

“Forty-seven regular hives, and one that looked like a royal convoy ship, it was much larger than the others,” Rodney said.

“Forty-seven ships, about two hundred thousand Wraith, assuming approximately four thousand per ship, at least twelve queens, a royal convoy ship, and a partridge in a pear tree!” John finished, feeling immensely pleased with what he and Rodney, with help from Clark and Lex, had accomplished.

Clark sniggered. “It was awesome!”

“And the people on those ships?” Elizabeth asked.

John was especially glad to be able to say, pointing to the device by Rodney, “All on that, about ten thousand people.”

“John,” Teyla said wonderingly. 

“And Rodney and Lex and Clark,” John said. “Actually, Rodney. He was the only one left on Atlantis, and he went to get Lex and Clark.”

“I needed an evil mastermind,” Rodney explained. “And then we found her,” he pointed to the Avatar, “and this ship, and a ton of ZedPMs.”

Elizabeth looked like she might pass out, and Teyla wasn’t much behind her.

“I do not know how many Wraith there are in entirety,” Teyla said, “but if there are more in existence, and with so many queens dead, it will take them centuries to rebuild to appreciable numbers. I would suspect that there was at least one queen on each hive so you have inflicted lethal damage to their race.”

“And with this ship, we can hunt them down anytime there’s a sighting,” John said.

“I cannot truly believe it,” Teyla said, sounding dazed.

John didn’t take offense, because he knew it was the thought of her people actually being free she could hardly believe, not what they had actually done.

“We got most of it on tape,” Rodney said. “Well, the end part, at least. They got destroyed by a temporary black hole.” At their concerned looks he waved a hand, “It was created by an explosion in a worm hole. It will fade away once the worm hole particles scatter.”

“And we’ll have people to return to most of the planets in this galaxy, and we can give them the good news about the Wraith, and set up systems for them to alert us to any Wraith sightings,” John added.

“And,” Rodney said, looking insufferably smug, one of John’s favorite expressions, “We have over twenty ZedPMs and a way to recharge them. And Lex brought us more coffee and chocolate!”

Clark started laughing at that, and soon they were all laughing, and no one paid any mind to the hint of hysteria tinging their laughter.

*****  
The next day they were back in Atlantis, the few people they’d released who weren’t Atlantis’ crew, were placed on the mainland with Teyla’s people, until the rest of the people were released and they could all be sent back to their own planets.

“We should head back,” Lex said to John and Rodney. “I would hazard a guess that Clark’s family are panicking, and my company won’t run itself.”

Rodney couldn’t really argue with that, but he hated to see them go. They were a nice safety net, and he liked them, too, and there weren’t a whole lot of people he liked and felt he could depend on. In fact, John had been the only person on that list for a while.

They made their way to the jumpers, he and John joining them on the one they’d come to Atlantis in.

“Hey,” John said. “Why don’t you just take a jumper back. You flew it here, right?”

Lex nodded.

Rodney frowned at John for assuming Rodney hadn’t flown it, but John knew Rodney’s jumper flying skills, or lack of them, better than anyone.

“I don’t really want you taking this one, so get in another and see if you can convince it to take you home.” John offered.

Rodney almost argued against the loss of a jumper, knowing Elizabeth wouldn’t be happy, but Rodney had a ship and a never-ending supply of ZedPMs so he could probably make more jumpers. They had to get manufactured somewhere; maybe there was an abandoned factory waiting to be found.

“Are you sure?” Lex asked, although he looked excited at the idea.

“You can hide it where no one can find it, right?” John asked.

“Yes, and I’ll keep it cloaked,” Lex assured him. “And I’ll make sure if we use it, that no government will ever notice it.”

Rodney could guess by the light in Lex’s eyes that he was imagining vacations to deserted areas of the world via jumper. Rodney wouldn’t begrudge him that. “Even if they do,” Rodney said, “it’s not like it’s our world where John could get court-martialed.”

“And a ship like this isn’t that big a deal when you’ve got superheroes everywhere,” John added.

“Good point. Sooner or later, your skies will be full of superhero ships and people who can fly,” Rodney said. He made a promise to himself that if he got back to his Earth that he’d pick up every comic book he could find so Lex and Clark would be better prepared to deal with the superhero and villain shit-storm potentially heading their way as the years went by.

“Although, it’s probably a good thing Elizabeth is too busy to see this,” John said with a grin.

“And that she doesn’t know how many jumpers survived the attack,” Rodney pointed out.

“Or that,” John said.

Lex and Clark were laughing at this point, and they got into the jumper John suggested, and Lex proceeded to the pilot seat while Clark sat next to him in the co-pilot chair.

“Hey,” Rodney said once they were settled. “Thanks. Whatever you need. Ever.” Without them, everyone would be dead, and he’d be slowly going insane left alone on Atlantis.

“I know where you live if I ever need a mad scientist,” Lex said with a grin. 

“I can’t wait to hear if you have any of your glowy power back on your Earth,” Rodney said.

Clark grinned widely at that. “I hope so!”

Rodney rolled his eyes. “No glowy sex while you’re flying!”

“I think I’ll take it out of here using my ‘glowy’ powers, so Elizabeth won’t see us leave with it,” Lex suggested.

“That is a great idea,” John said, looking pleased that he wouldn’t need to talk Chuck into ignoring a jumper leaving without John and Rodney in it.

“This was fun,” Lex said, “but let’s plan our next get together around a barbecue.”

“Give us a few months,” Rodney said, smiling, “to get things back to normal, and then we’ll be there for that barbecue.” Just the thought of barbecue was making his mouth water. There were so many things they hadn’t had a chance to eat when they were last on Comic Book World.

“Teyla said to say thank you and goodbye,” John remembered. “She’s with Elizabeth on the mainland.”

“Tell her she’s more than welcome, and bring her with you for barbecue,” Lex said, powering the jumper on. “And anyone else you want.”

John and Rodney stepped out of the jumper and watched as it grew indistinct and then went glowy and zipped through the walls to the outside.

Rodney was hugging John before the glowy contrail was out of sight. “Let’s never do that again,” he suggested sternly.

“I don’t think it could happen again,” John said, wrapping his arms around Rodney in return. “No Wraith, hopefully.”

No Wraith, or at least too few to be a real threat. “We could contact Earth,” Rodney said, not feeling too thrilled at the thought.

“We could,” John said. “But later. A lot later.” He kissed Rodney and said, “I don’t think Elizabeth will be back for a few hours. Wanna go have sex?”

Before he finished the sentence, Rodney was already pulling him out of the jumper bay.

*****  
It took a little insisting, but the jumper did ferry them across to their own reality and, within minutes, Lex landed the jumper in the woods on Lex’s estate. He’d have to think of the perfect place to hide it, but no one would find it here.

With some help from Clark, they made it to the mansion quickly, and Lex was instantly deluged with a dozen crises from Enrique, and he didn’t even want to think about the number of emails and phone calls waiting for him. He kissed Clark and suggested he go home to let his parents know he was in one piece. “I’d just as soon not have Martha heading over here with a shotgun,” Lex said.

“I will be back later,” Clark threatened. “And hey, can you do your Ancient stuff here?”

Lex focused for a moment then shook his head. “I think I’m all back to normal in this reality.”

“Just the way I love you,” Clark assured him, before heading for the door and the Kent farm.

Lex grinned as he followed Enrique to his office. He was several hours in on getting his life back in control when his father entered his office.

“Oh, joy,” Lex said. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“My son vanishes for over a week, and I don’t have the right to be concerned?” Luthor said, affronted.

“If I thought you cared about me,” Lex said, “then you’d have the right. You’re just here to make sure my body was cold before taking over the helm of Lex Corp.” It had been a very long week, and he had hours of work still ahead of him, and he was already missing Clark. “Sorry to disappoint.” 

“I spoke with Martha Kent,” Luthor said, with the air of someone making a threat, “and she didn’t know where Clark was.”

“Stay away from Martha Kent,” Lex hissed at him. His father would find himself in a deep dark hole if he tried to use Martha against him.

Luthor looked startled, and he took a step away from Lex. “Son, are you glowing.”

Lex grinned viciously at that. Maybe he did still have some of his powers. Now he could put his father in orbit if he overstepped. “Just a trick of the light; your eyesight could be going. You should go home and rest.”

“What did you do to yourself?” Luthor demanded.

Lex had no doubt that his dad would be standing in line for whatever it was, threatening and cajoling, not understanding that there wasn’t a hope in hell he’d get what he wanted. His father’s desire to be better than anyone was, well, actually Lex was inestimably glad he didn’t feel the same way anymore. If not for Clark, he and his dad would be like prized bulls pawing at the ground and blowing hot air out of their nostrils until they killed each other.

Not trying for much, he moved to one of the large windows, pushing it open. A cold wind was suddenly whipping papers around and setting lamps wobbling on their stands. “Time to go, dad, it looks like the weather’s turning bad.” Lex managed not to grin at his dad as he stared out the window at the sunny still day outside. “Don’t come back without an invitation.” He really didn’t know how much power he had, and now wasn’t the time to find out. But apparently it was enough to make his father agree and hightail it out of there, and that was perfect.

As soon as his father left, everything settled down, and Lex sighed at all his previously organized paperwork now spread all over the floor. He started to grin, and then to laugh, and went to pick the mess up with a light heart, counting the minutes until he could see Clark again. 

The End


End file.
